Journey to the Past
by Cha's Aegis
Summary: Two years after the Promised Day, Maes Hughes learns some memories are worth dredging up and some journeys worth risking, especially when saving a life from his past so she can have the same second chance she once gave him. The added bonus for him is that she's a dead ringer for Edward Elric. A/R. Roy x OC
1. Chapter 1

Winter days are cold, bitter and depressing.

At least, that's how most people would describe them.

Out of all the seasons, winter seems harder for the average person to endure than any other. The cold, sometimes freezing, temperatures often bring misery, illness and much inconvenience and such weather seems to quickly turn treacherous without warning, making it far easier to die or sustain injury.

Not that Brigadier General Maes Hughes is one to gripe about the cold very much.

Casually strolling down the corridors, he gazes out the windows at the gray, overcast skies before taking in the landscape and noting the barren trees and patches of snow on the ground. If weather predictions are accurate, everything will be blanketed with snow by this time tomorrow morning.

He personally doesn't mind the often bitter, cold days since his job in the recently renamed Investigations Division keeps him predominantly indoors. Even if he isn't stuck inside so much, regardless of the weather, it's simply another day to appreciate his second chance at life.

One he'll shamelessly take advantage of tomorrow by calling out to take his wife and daughter sledding. After all, the snow could make it far too dangerous to drive into work in the morning.

Arriving at the main door of the outer office, he steps inside and grins at the young brunette woman already sitting at her desk diligently doing her work.

"Good morning, Sheska," he greets cheerfully as he steps over to the coat hooks lining the wall near her desk.

"Good morning, General Hughes," she greets back with a smile as he shrugs off his coat and hangs it onto one of the brass hooks.

Rolling his eyes he playfully admonishes her. "There's no need to be so formal, when it's just us, Sheska."

The bespectacled woman blushes in embarrassment. "It just seems inappropriate for a corporal like me to be so informal when we're on duty, sir."

Maes shakes his head as he drapes his scarf on the same hook as his coat. "Unless there's a stick in the mud like Colonel Douglas or General Hakuro nearby, there's no need to worry about anyone raising a stink because we're ignoring protocol. You didn't go through the academy training, so strict decorum isn't expected of our ranked civilians."

"I'll try to remember that, sir," Sheska replies meekly, causing him to shake his head fondly at her again.

"How's my schedule looking for today?" he asks instead, picking up his briefcase and heading toward his office door located on the other side of her desk.

Rising from her seat, she grabs a clipboard and follows him into his office. "You have one meeting scheduled this afternoon at 1500 hours. Otherwise, you're clear for the rest of the day."

Setting his briefcase on the desk, Maes grins at her. "Good. That gives me plenty of time to go show Major General Mustang some new pictures of Elicia I have!"

Reaching into a side pocket of his briefcase he slips out several photos before turning on his heel and heading toward the door.

Sheska belatedly realizes he's completely serious and hurries after him.

"Wait! But, sir!" she protests at his back as he disappears through the doorway.

"Maes!" his fading voice playfully admonishes from down the hallway.

* * *

An hour later Maes strolls back into the office, grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm back," he needlessly announces, stopping in front of Sheska's desk.

She reaches over and picks up a small stack of mail sitting on the outer edge of her desk to her right and hands it to him.

"Will you be here for awhile?" she asks meekly. "Soon I'll have some urgent documents that need your signature."

Maes gives her a fond smile before idly flipping through his mail. "Yeah, I'll stick around…"

His voice trails off at a large, innocuous looking, gold colored packet envelope. His brow arches at the sender: the Immigration and Naturalization Division of Amestris. Frowning slightly in confusion, he reaches over and snags a letter opener from the cup of pens on Sheska's desk. Pulling out the documents, his frown deepens as he scans the main letter before flipping briefly though several accompanying forms.

When he finally notices Sheska watching him out of curiosity he smiles and hands back the letter opener. "I'm going to close my office door. Unless it's those documents you need signed or something urgent, I'm not to be disturbed."

Not waiting for an answer, he leaves a baffled Sheska to watch in confusion as he disappears into his office and closes the door.

* * *

Major General Roy Mustang wanted blood.

Preferably, Maes Hughes' blood.

Fuming, he storms into the Investigations Division annoyed that Colonel Hawkeye refused to allow him to show up sooner. Then again, she did threaten to shoot off essential parts of his anatomy if he didn't complete some priority documents first.

Barely looking up, Sheska's eyes widen when she realizes where he's heading. Rising to her feet, she raises a finger to catch his attention.

"Um, General Mustang, sir…" she begins before she shrinks back under his glare. "Go right in, sir," she finishes meekly.

Roy slams open the door and glares at his target's back across the room. Sitting at his desk, the noise causes Maes to turn from the window he's gazing out of to glance over his shoulder across his desk.

"Roy! It's been too long since we've seen each other," Maes teases in greeting.

Stalking over, Roy glares daggers before slapping a few photos on top of the papers littering the blotter.

"It's one thing to wave photos of your wife and daughter at me on a near daily basis," Roy growls, crossing his arms, "but do you have to hide them in my desk and tape them to the mirror in my private bathroom?"

"I didn't think you had your morning coffee yet when I showed them to you," Maes laughs, partially swiveling his chair back around. "I thought I'd leave them so you'd have more time to appreciate them."

Roy's glare intensifies as he growls, "I sure as hell don't need more picture viewing time!"

His rant is cut off when his eyes catch on a photo peeking out under the ones he just threw on the desk. Curious, he reaches down and pulls the picture from underneath the scattered pile, his frown deepening as he studies it.

Maes watches his friend study the photo, knowing exactly which one it is, before gathering up the precious pictures of his wife and daughter.

Finally Roy looks up. "Why do you have a childhood photo of Ed and Al?"

Not bothering look up as he slips the other photos into a breast pocket, Maes replies, "That's not the Elrics."

Roy arches an incredulous brow. "Don't tell me it's their evil twins?"

Mischievous green eyes meet Roy's. "I wouldn't say evil. Not in the least," Maes grins.

Confused, Roy's gaze drops down to the photo again and he notices some subtle differences that make him question whether they are the Elrics. Their faces certainly look like the two young men, but their manner of dress is odd. He never saw anyone in Resembool dressed like that. He couldn't recall Al wearing a Xing-like, upright, tab collared, button up shirt and he especially doesn't remember Fullmetal ever wearing an Ishvalan type headscarf.

Roy looks up at a quietly waiting Maes. "This isn't a photo of the Elrics?"

"They are the Namikaze twins," Maes smirks. "The one on the right that looks like Al is Kyo and the one that looks like Ed is his sister Kisa."

"Sister?" Roy blinks in confusion.

"Yep," Maes nods. "Ed's double is a girl." Both share a chuckle before he continues speaking. "They were born and raised in Tenerife in the southern portion of Azambra and are a year younger than Al." Smiling softly he adds, "They also saved my life."

Roy stares at his friend before looking down briefly at the photo. When his questioning eyes meet green, Maes leans back in his chair and gestures at the door. "If Colonel Hawkeye won't kill you, and if you've got the time, I've got a long story to share about those two."

Still holding the photo, Roy walks back over to close the door before returning and settling onto one of the armchairs in the small sitting area in front of Maes' desk.

As soon as Maes joins him and settles in another chair, Roy asks, "What is this about?"

Maes' eyes grow distant in remembrance before finally speaking. "It happened when I was in hiding in the Southeastern area." Smirking he focuses back on Roy, adding, "Since I was busted back down to major, I had to lead a mission against a group of raiders purportedly backed by Aerugo. The group liked to sneak in to do quick hits before slipping back across the borders. My commanding officer, Colonel Powers, received intel as to when their next strike would be and ordered my team to do a retrieval."

Sighing wearily, Maes shakes his head. "Didn't matter in which country it was or how volatile Amestris' relationship was with said country, we were to eliminate the raiders and recover whatever we could."

"What the hell was Powers thinking?" Roy asks in incredulous outrage. "That could've started a war and at the worst possible time."

Maes nods in agreement. "I tried reasoning with the idiot, but he was too busy looking at a quick promotion. Being a major didn't give me much recourse, so I had to take the mission."

"My entire platoon was slaughtered," he continues softly. "The Intel was correct and we tracked the group back into Azambra after their strike. What wasn't known was that Azambra had quietly gone through a coup. An anti-government party had been growing for years and backed the exiled younger brother of the crown prince after his failed bid to claim his father's throne. Eventually they staged a coup and murdered the imperial family, taking over."

"I remember being shocked when the news broke about the situation months ago," Roy muses. "Regardless of the chaotic events surrounding the Promised Day, I was surprised we hadn't heard about the coup at all. A small part of Azambra borders Amestris; we should've heard something."

"Especially with the raiders flitting across the border," Maes agrees. "However, they kept their movements small enough to merely be a nuisance to Amestris and not a threat. Since Azambra didn't have much of a military force, Bradley probably didn't see them as a threat. They only stayed in the southeast and there's nothing of note there. Certainly didn't fit with the giant transmutation circle you guys shut down that day."

"That was the whole point of hiding you in the southeast because there wasn't much going on there," Roy exhales in frustration. "It was supposed to give you time to recover from the head wound after that bastard Envy shot you." Sighing in resignation, he adds, "Although, it did keep you out of the hands of the homunculi in case you remembered what you uncovered before you were shot."

"You know," Maes muses, "even after you told me about the brass being polluted, I still don't remember how or when I came to that conclusion. It might've saved some trouble for everyone in the long run."

"You're lucky that memory is all you lost from that wound," Roy mutters darkly, arching a brow. "As it was, the doctors at the civilian clinic we hid you at weren't certain if you'd even survive. Then they raised hell when we took you out early to hide you in the southeast."

"You could've made me a lieutenant colonel instead of a major," Maes grouses petulantly.

Roy's gaze narrows. "The point was to keep your existence low-key, making you a lieutenant colonel is _**not**_ low key."

"Admit it. You were just being lazy and didn't want to hassle getting me a higher rank," Maes scoffs.

"What part of being undercover don't you understand?" Roy snaps irritably.

"I understand all right," Maes snorts, "but it's a real blow to the ego to be double promoted when I supposedly died and then demoted as Maes Hayes. And did you have to make my fake surname rhyme with my first name?" he grumbles. "You have no idea how much I got ribbed for that."

Not bothering to wait for an answer and ignoring Roy's harsh exhalation he continues. "It's ironic you were fighting a hell unleashed by the homunculi here in Amestris while I was surviving a man made hell in the nation of Azambra."

Roy arches a brow, as Maes' eyes grow distant again as he adds in a soft voice, "My platoon infiltrated with no problem and we tracked our targets for four days. The tropical terrain was difficult to traverse and we couldn't get into position to ambush them. What we didn't count on was armed patrols covering for the raiders. My men were quickly decimated and I took a bullet in my right shoulder and shrapnel in my left side. The raiders left to drop off their spoils while the patrol went to check the area for any other invaders."

Roy stares at Maes in shock as he shrugs. "I was in bad shape. I thought it was ironic that I escaped getting killed by the homunculi only to bleed to death in the middle of a jungle." Smirking, he gestures at the photo of the twins sitting on the coffee table between them in front of Roy. "Those two little scavengers showed up a couple of hours later and turned into my saviors."

* * *

_Two years prior…_

This had to be the most unpoetic death he could've ever imagined for himself.

Shifting more comfortably against the smooth trunk of the tree he's leaning against, Maes looks around again at the small 'shelter' he discovered earlier. At first glance, the base of the tree appears to be overwhelmed by clusters of dense shrubbery with thick, twisty branches and fern like leaves. The bushes have grown so close together they became entangled, making it hard to determine one plant from the other.

The unusual tropical shrubbery looks thick and impassable from the outside, but despite their interconnectedness they are arranged in such an odd grouping that the ground is clear in the center. Some of the branches fan out and tangle overhead into a thin canopy allowing enough light to filter through, but hiding anything underneath like well-placed camouflage netting. The small clearing is just big enough for him to stretch out to lie down in and high enough for him to remain hidden sitting upright. He appreciates the shady canopy protecting him from the bright sun. It's humid enough; he doesn't need to be cooked on top of that.

Glancing down to his left side, he lifts the bloody compress to peek at the wounds. Sighing in frustration that the bleeding hasn't stopped in the shrapnel littered wounds he winces as he presses the compress back in place. He's glad he stumbled across this quirky trait of the bushes. They surround most of the trees in the area, but he never imagined the secret they hid. As he crawled around, he thought he merely found an opening to a type of animal burrow. Since it was big enough he decided to chance it instead of risking discovery by the enemy out in the open.

Amazement at the bushes and his luck gave way to disappointment when he realized he wouldn't be able to dig out the bullet in his right shoulder, nor could he do much for the shrapnel embedded in his side. He has been trying to staunch the slow, steady bleeding of his wounds for the past two hours with little success. Even if he does stop the bleeding, he won't make the four and half day trek back to the borders of Amestris. He'd either die or be discovered by the enemy long before he got halfway there.

Blowing out a harsh breath, he silently focuses his ire on his commanding officer. He tried warning Colonel Powers that it was a stupid plan to stop the raiders. Thanks to that asshole, he's going to die in a foreign country and his wife and daughter will never know it. He knows Roy had quietly informed Gracia that he was alive at his insistence. However, Gracia doesn't know where Roy hid him.

Maes' thoughts shift to his friend. Roy is going to be beyond pissed when he finds out his entire squad disappeared in Azambra. Assuming Powers doesn't cover the whole mess up, that is.

Leaning his head back against the tree, he shakes his head at the irony of surviving getting shot in the head and all the effort and trouble that had gone into hiding him from their enemies wasted because of an ambitious colonel with half a brain.

The quiet movement of someone approaching his position breaks into his thoughts and captures his attention. Knowing he's well hidden, he listens intently until he hears two voices, one male and the other female, break the silence and speak in low tones. He guesses they are either children or young adults. Their speech proves they are neither Azambran military or part of the raiders, leaving him to conclude that they are scavengers.

Accepting there isn't anything he can do to protect the remains of his comrades, Maes waits for them to leave. What he doesn't count on is to hear movement through the foliage towards his position several minutes later.

Slumping further down against the tree as a corpse would, he deftly slips out one of his push knives, hiding it out of sight next to his left thigh underneath part of his coat. Dropping his chin to his chest he closes his eyes.

He doesn't wait long for the light rustling of someone crawling through the entrance of his hiding place. Within moments he's sharing space with the intruder. He's certain they've paused to study him since all movement stopped and all he can hear is their soft breathing. Moments later they shuffle closer and he senses their presence to his immediate left before feeling a tentative hand fiddling at the collar of his shirt.

Ignoring the excruciating pain shooting throughout his body, his eyes shoot open as he slams them to the ground by their neck, eliciting a startled grunt. Pressing his blade against their jugular, he uses his body to pin them down. His fierce scowl instantly melts into stunned disbelief as he stares down into the familiar face of Edward Elric.

Several thoughts race through his mind, making little sense. Why would Ed be all the way out here in Azambra? It's not that small a nation, so how in the hell did Ed find him? Especially out in the middle of a jungle? Isn't he back in Amestris searching for the Philosopher's Stone? Isn't he trying to get his and Al's bodies back?

Maes quickly realizes there is no recognition in those familiar gold eyes. His mind also registers that 'Ed' is trembling and isn't fighting back. The 'Edward Elric' he knows fights like a hellcat when cornered. The final fact that cinches it is the boobs he can feel through their clothing. Because of the stifling humidity he opened his uniform jacket, so his undershirt and her shirt provides a thin barrier between them. He's definitely not imagining those lumps.

Embarrassed, he's about to apologize and let her up when he hears her companion closing in on them. Hating himself, he grunts softly in pain as he quickly shifts back against the tree, bringing the girl up against his chest and keeping the knife at her throat just in time.

The pale blond crown of the bent head of what appears to be a boy pushing a knapsack ahead of him emerges from the opening.

"Did the blood trail lead to another soldier that crawled into the bushes and died?" the boy blithely asks before straightening up on his knees, his happy expression promptly morphing into shocked horror.

Feeling the girl shaking in his arms, Maes feels guilty using her as a shield, but he's not going down without a fight regardless of who it is. He studies the young teen gaping at them a couple feet away. He has the same golden eyes as the girl, but his face is different, narrower and his eyes are rounder. There's still enough similarity to convince Maes they're related. He also notes the boy is very gaunt and frail and his clothes worn and frayed, confirming he is neither a raider or in the military.

His attention snaps back onto the teen when he slowly raises both hands in surrender.

"Please, uncle, don't hurt my sister," he begs.

Maes is a little taken aback by the boy addressing him as 'uncle' before remembering it's Azambran custom is to call any male older than themselves 'uncle' out of respect.

"We didn't mean any harm," the teen continues earnestly. "And we didn't realize anyone was still alive." Placing his hands on the ground before him, he bends forward to touch his forehead to the ground, pleading, "Please release my sister. Take me hostage instead."

Maes silently considers the boy who remains bent against the ground. His mind races through ideas on how to handle this situation when the sound of several people approaching causes the boy's head to snap up in horror as he pushes himself upright.

His eyes aren't focused on Maes, but lower at the captive in his arms as he whispers, "The patrols!" Snapping his anguished gaze back to Maes, he begs in a hushed whisper, "Please let my sister go so we can hide! If the patrol finds us, we're all dead!"

Maes' mind works furiously before narrowing down to the best option. "Go hide elsewhere," he orders, dropping the knife from his captive's throat. When the boy opens his mouth, he snaps, "Hurry! I promise she'll be safe."

The noise of the patrol grows louder causing the boy to glare as he growls, "Better keep your word."

Casting a reassuring look at his sister, the boy swiftly disappears from the clearing, leaving her and Maes alone again.

Gently grasping the terrified girl by the shoulders, Maes guides her to face him. Not releasing her shoulders, he gazes intensely into frightened gold eyes.

"I won't let you get hurt," his whispers reassuringly, "but I need you to trust me. You need to do exactly as I say so we can all survive this. Do you understand?"

Slowly the girl nods despite her obvious fear, causing Maes to smile softly.

"I'm sorry, but it'll be very awkward and uncomfortable," he states before gently pushing her to lie on her back.

He guides her to rotate onto her side so her legs are bent together sideways. With her head bent forward, she's essentially curled into a fetal position. Draping his own body awkwardly over hers, he positions himself to appear like he was trying to crawl away from the opening. He's grateful she's considerably smaller and that he has on his full uniform. It may be horribly hot, but the uniform skirt and protective white overcoat spreading out around them is providing excellent cover for her.

"I'm sorry," he whispers again, "but I'll have to relax my full weight on you if anyone approaches. Stay quiet and try not to move at all." He feels her nod against his chest, showing she heard. Smiling to himself, he says, "Thank you for working with me on this. I promise we'll make it through this."

Maes immediately falls silent as he hears the patrol moving slowly through the area counting out the number of dead. He knows it won't take them long to find the blood trail the two children found earlier that will inevitably lead to him.

"Dammit this shit is tough," a male voice grumbles under his breath. His words accented by the sound hacking at the foliage of Maes' hideout with what he assumes is a machete.

With no hesitation, he relaxes his body onto the girl, causing her to grunt softly in discomfort. To her credit she remains still despite having the weight of a full-grown man bearing down on her.

The soldier finally struggles into the clearing, stopping next to Maes' boots.

"Found a set of legs and it appears the rest of the body is tangled in the undergrowth, sir!" he calls out.

"All the enemy have been accounted for then," another voice calls back. "Leave the bodies where they are. A storm is coming fast. We'll come back with flamethrowers and torch the entire area later."

Maes listens to the rustling of the canvas as the soldier asks, "There's a knapsack here, sir. Should I bring it along?"

"Leave it," the other voice answers.

"But, sir…" the soldier begins to protest before getting cut off.

"Don't forget about our former comrade who disobeyed orders," the voice warns. "Do you wish to be sent to reeducation also?"

Maes feels the girl's trembling intensify, but she makes no other movement except to press her head into his chest.

"N-no, s-sir," the terrified soldier replies. "I thought we could find use for whatever was inside. No disrespect was intended, sir."

"Policy is clear on non-Azambran items," the voice answers dismissively. "We must leave or get caught in the rain."

"Yes, sir!" the soldier answers smartly.

Maes listens to them leave before shifting slightly.

"Don't move," the girl's muffled voice whispers. "They haven't left yet."

Arching a brow, he wonders why she's saying that when it's obvious the patrol has left. That is until he hears them stealthily moving through the area again.

Several tense minutes later the girl quietly declares, "They're gone."

With a grunt of pain, Maes pushes himself off the girl onto his knees. Silently he extends his left hand to help her up. She eyes him warily before accepting. She notices him wince as he helps her sit up before shifting to lean back against the tree.

Panting from the exertion, he looks her over. "Sorry for getting blood on you," he apologizes quietly

Eerily familiar gold eyes widen in surprise before looking down at her clothing at the bloodstains. Looking back at the wounds littering Maes' body, she silently admonishes herself for forgetting that she noticed his injuries earlier.

Both look toward the entrance of the clearing as they hear her brother quietly approaching. The crawl space is relatively intact, but the soldier hacked the upper branches away to struggle into part of the space.

Panic gives way to relief as his eyes lock on his sister before snatching her in a fierce hug then pulling back to examine her.

When his eyes widen at the blood, she quickly reassures him, "It's not mine."

The boy looks over at Maes and takes note of his injuries before releasing his sister and shifting to bow low to the ground again. "Thank you for protecting my sister, uncle."

Maes tiredly waves it off. "It's the least I could do for scaring her."

"Why did you insist she stay instead of letting her hide with me?" he hesitantly asks.

"I had some questions and didn't want you running off before I could ask them," Maes sighs wearily.

Eyeing him warily, the boy asks, "If we try to leave, will you try stopping us?"

Maes chuckles, wincing at the pain before replying, "Nah. I don't have the strength for it. We just had a narrow escape, so I'm willing to call it even if you are."

"The soldiers are correct, there is a storm coming and we should all go before it hits," the girl states quietly, causing her brother's head to snap around and stare at her incredulously.

She silently meets his gaze and Maes watches in confusion as they engage in a brief, defiant staring match.

"We better hurry," her brother caves with a frustrated sigh. Turning to Maes, he places his hands together in a prayer position at his chest and bows slightly. "I'm Kyo Namikaze." Gesturing at the girl who mirrors his movement, Kyo introduces her. "And this is my twin sister, Kisa."

Slightly confused, Maes nods in greeting, "I'm Maes."

"We better hurry to get as far as we can before the storm hits," Kyo states reaching for the discarded knapsack.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Maes asks in confusion.

"It's dangerous to answer your questions out here," Kisa replies quietly, reaching for Maes' knapsack, which the soldier didn't notice because of the bushes.

Kyo gestures for her to leave the clearing and she begins pushing the knapsack ahead of her as she crawls out.

"C'mon," he jerks his head toward the entrance. "You're injured and we need somewhere dry and warm to treat your injuries."

Maes tries processing what they're saying as he watches Kyo disappear from the clearing with the other knapsack.

Finally registering what they're saying he snaps, "Are you two out of your minds? You could get in trouble if I'm caught with you!"

"It's not up for debate," Kyo's voice drifts out of the hole. "Hurry up before the patrol returns and roasts you."

Reluctantly Maes follows them back out into the open. As he emerges from the bushes, he sees Kyo already bearing one of the knapsacks while helping his sister shoulder the other.

"You could fight us," Kyo grins at the older man, "but you'll need your strength to make it back with us."

Shuffling over, he drapes Maes' good arm over his shoulders. With Kisa's help both drag him groaning to his feet.

"You're both being stupid and making a mistake," he grumbles.

"We've never been described as smart and it won't be the first mistake we've made," Kyo quips as Kisa grips the older man's torso as best as she can in support.

Maes merely shakes his head as they start walking.

It isn't long before a heavy downpour erupts from the sky. That, coupled with heavy blood loss, weakens Maes to the point of making walking nearly impossible. Kisa switches places with Kyo in order for them to continue as he positions himself in front of Maes so the older man can lean forward heavily against his back.

When they finally arrive at their destination, Kisa remains hiding with Maes in the surrounding growth of a small clearing, helping to support him against a tree while Kyo carefully scouts the area. Once he returns after making sure the coast is clear, they both quickly hustle older man inside the ramshackle structure barely visible through the deluge.

Maes is light headed and woozy, but is aware of climbing the small ramp they guide him up on before a hand pulls down on his good shoulder to bend low enough to enter the structure. Once inside, he's guided toward the center of the room where Kyo and Kisa ease him onto a bedroll near a fire.

No words are spoken as the two kids struggle to peel off his uniform. He notes there's another occupant on the other side of the fire in the center of what appears to be a single room home.

Kisa briefly leaves Kyo to finish getting Maes' out of his outer clothing before returning with dry garments. Maes' head spins as Kyo helps him into the fresh clothes then eases him to lie down. He's barely aware of the boy leaving his side to change his own soaked clothing, but manages to focus enough to notice Kisa has changed and is quietly talking to the other occupant.

Maes doesn't realize he's drifting off into unconsciousness until Kyo startles him awake by dumping out one of knapsacks onto the floor, following up immediately with the second one.

He watches the young blond sort out the medical supplies before asking, "Is that why you two were scavenging among the dead?"

Jerking as if stung, a guilty expression crosses his face as he nods. "We don't have any medical supplies and most soldiers, regardless of country, carry first aid kits," he explains while continuing to sort the supplies. "We were looking for that and any food."

"Weren't you looking for things to sell?" Maes weakly asks.

"There's no one to sell them to," Kyo mutters darkly.

Confused, Maes considers asking what he means, but grimaces instead at the pain shooting through his body, discouraging any further questions.

When he hears a different movement, he cracks open his eyes to see Kyo has repacked everything except the medical supplies. He struggles to stay focused as the twins move about the room, barely paying attention as they bring things over like water filled basins, clean rags and a sewing basket.

"Uncle?" Kyo's voice breaks through the fog of Maes' stupor.

Pain filled green eyes struggle to focus on the concerned boy flanked by his sister.

When they have Maes's full attention, Kyo speaks again. "There's no such thing as doctors here, so we're going to have to treat you. We can't leave the shrapnel and bullet in because they might get infected. So I'm going to dig them out and clean the wounds."

Maes considers his words and isn't sure if they know what they're doing, but he can't deny there isn't much choice. Slowly he nods as both smile reassuringly.

Within moments Kisa moves to kneel at his left shoulder and places a thick stick in his mouth to bite down on. She places her right hand firmly on his shoulder and her other on his chest. When she's ready she nods at her brother who nods back with grim determination before leaning in and getting to work.

Maes bites down hard as he cries out around the stick as Kyo digs into the bullet wound. Kisa struggles to hold him still, softly muttering reassurances and encouragement. The bullet isn't very deep, but Kyo knows he can easily do more harm than good. Sweat accents his furrowed brow as he continues working steadily until he's finally able to dig the bullet out.

Maes is too out of it with pain to hear the sigh of relief both kids share, but grunts when Kyo starts cleaning the wound with soap and warm water. The burning, throbbing sensations of electrical jolts shooting throughout his body masks any pain caused by the needle and thread as Kyo stitches the wound before wrapping his shoulder in bandages.

Not wasting any time despite being tired emotionally and physically from the day, Kyo carefully digs out all the shrapnel dusting Maes' left side.

"Uncle is lucky not to have been too close to whatever explosion caused these wounds or the debris would've been embedded much deeper," he muses to Kisa as he drops another piece of bloody metal into a bowl before picking out another with the tweezers.

Kneeling above Maes' head, Kisa merely grunts in acknowledgement as she continues gently stroking his face reassuringly while he drifts in and out of consciousness. Thankfully he mostly remains unconscious and she doesn't have to hold him down like she did while Kyo removed the bullet.

It doesn't take much longer for Kyo to finish pulling all the pieces out and clean the wounds.

Since the wounds are too numerous, and many too small, to stitch up, Kyo places a damp cloth over the area to help stop the bleeding. By this point, Maes is too disoriented by pain and doesn't feel Kisa draping a blanket over him, nor is he aware when they replace the cloth with a bandage wrapped around his torso later that night.

Blood loss and fever make him barely aware of the passage of the next few days. Sometimes he wakes up to either twin placing a damp cloth on his forehead or changing his bandages.

Finally, bleary green eyes struggle to open, repeatedly blinking until the fogginess clears. Maes glances around the rough wood of the room, trying to recognize where he is.

"Kyo! He's awake!" Kisa calls to her brother on the far side of the room.

Soon the two blonds crowd into Maes' field of vision as he smiles tiredly at them.

"If you two were identical I'd wonder if I had a concussion," he quips, causing Kyo to grin and Kisa to smile softly.

"Too bad we aren't. It would've been fun messing with your head," Kyo replies facetiously.

Shaking her head, Kisa rolls her eyes. Reaching out she places a gentle hand against Maes' cheek then moves it to his forehead.

"You don't have a fever anymore," she comments before asking, "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," Maes answers.

It's Kyo's turn to roll his eyes. "Well, thank you, Captain Obvious."

"You're welcome, Sergeant Sarcasm," Maes fires back.

"Ooooh! Great comeback! I've gotta remember that one!" Kyo compliments appreciatively.

Kisa glowers at the two of them, snapping, "Knock it off! I'm being serious!"

"I'm being serious too," Maes smiles in amusement at her anger. "I feel like shit."

Kyo opens his mouth to reply with another witticism when he catches sight of Kisa narrowing her eyes at him dangerously. Clearing his throat he asks more seriously, "Are you feeling any sharp pains? Are you still feeling light headed? Nauseas?"

"Other than the dull aches caused by breathing, I feel fine," Maes explains, amusement still coloring his tone. "Thank you," he adds sincerely.

Kisa nods, the barest of smiles gracing her lips as Kyo replies, "You're welcome."

"How long has it been since you found me?" he asks, finally becoming serious.

"A week," Kyo answers. "Are you hungry? We don't have anything really good, but you should try eating something."

Maes considers it before replying honestly, "Not really, but I can try."

Without a word, Kisa leaves to go prepare something for Maes.

"She doesn't waste time, does she?" Maes asks Kyo.

"Nope," he replies fondly, observing his sister as she works.

Eying the distracted teen, Maes decides to stop beating around the bush.

"So would it be a bad time to ask why there are military patrols armed to the teeth wandering the jungles and protecting raiders stealing from Amestris?"

Kyo stiffens and suddenly looks fearful. Maes glances over to Kisa who is now working near the fire just within his line of sight and sees her reaction mirrors her brother's.

"I'll be right back," Kyo whispers fearfully before leaving.

Confused, Maes remains quiet, especially since Kisa still appears tense. Deciding to wait to see what happens next, he takes in his surroundings.

He can't describe their home being any better than a ramshackle hovel. Calling it a shelter is too kind. He sees no sign of electrical wiring, outlets or fixtures and no signs of any type of plumbing. It's odd not seeing windows and the doorway having no door but a piece of cloth tacked into place instead.

Kisa interrupts his observations when she reappears by his side bearing a bowl and helps him struggle into a sitting position. She hands him the bowl and a spoon before positioning herself behind his good shoulder, her back against his.

"Lean against me so you can take some of the pressure off your side," she instructs while reaching up over to her shoulder to gently pull on his.

Deciding it's not worth the effort fighting her, he complies before reluctantly digging into what he can only describe as gruel. He guesses the lumpy, white chunks are rice and sincerely hopes Kisa cooked it that way on purpose to make it easier to digest.

It isn't long before Kyo returns and kneels next to Maes, quietly declaring, "It's clear."

Maes hears Kisa sigh softly and feels her body relax slightly in relief.

Resting the bowl in his lap, Maes asks, "What's going on?"

"A living nightmare," Kyo replies solemnly. "While you're hiding here, please remember not to speak too loud. In fact, it's a good idea if you don't speak unless Kisa and I first check the area for informants. You don't know what not to say yet."

"Informants?" Maes asks in confusion. "What you're talking about."

"He's telling you to keep your mouth shut or you'll get us all killed!" an unfamiliar female voice snaps at Maes. "It's bad enough these fools are hiding you here, but do your part not to attract attention to your presence."

Kisa shifts to twist around slightly to gently push Maes' shoulder so he can straighten up before hurrying over to the other side of the fire. Both can hear their hushed arguing, mostly on the unknown females' part.

Leaning in closer, Kyo quietly whispers, "That's our only sister Kyoko. She's the oldest and our last surviving family member."

Kyo holds Maes' shocked gaze before continuing, "She's dying from malnutrition and who knows what else. Probably doesn't have a lot longer," he muses. "Anyway, she's not happy we're hiding you here. She tends to have outbursts like that, which contradicts what she's scolding you for," he finishes as his lips quirk a bit in amusement.

"Anyway, please be careful what you say and please go along with what we tell you from now on," Kyo continues earnestly. "It's for everyone's safety because saying the wrong thing in Azambra can get you killed in the most brutal and imaginative ways."

"The monarchy has turned totalitarian?" Maes frowns in confusion.

Kyo snorts. "The monarchy is dead and gone. Now Azambra is ruled by ignorant thugs with lousy ideas of socially reengineering the country into a sort of agricultural, self-sufficient utopia isolated from the rest of the world. Everyone is supposed to be equal to the point of no individuality."

"Schools, hospitals, businesses and banks were all closed. Everyone was forced out of the cities to live in these communes," Kyo explains, gesturing at their house. "All religions have been banned and family relationships are pretty much discouraged. Even if a couple were married, if it's not approved of, they could get killed just talking to each other or even having sex."

Maes blinks in surprise, "People are killed for having sex with their spouse?"

"I'm sorry," Kisa sighs softly, returning to sit with them, "but my brother isn't explaining things very well. Death is a way of life. Has been since an anti-government group calling themselves the People's Army staged a coup to topple our king over six years ago. They used the exiled prince as a means to gather sympathy among the people and turn them to revolt against the monarchy. Once that was done, the leader everyone has to call First Friend had the prince killed and took over."

Taking the empty bowl from Maes' hands, Kisa sets it aside. She continues her explanation while Kyo begins changing his bandages.

"The People's Army believed the society of Azambra only benefited the few, especially the rich and educated while the poor suffered and died underneath them. So they decided to destroy and rebuild society into an agricultural paradise where everyone is equal. In order to make everyone equal, that meant taking away everything that makes people distinctive."

Kisa breaks off speaking, sitting perfectly still. No one says anything as they watch her cock her head slightly as if listening. Maes isn't sure what she's listening for when all he can hear is what he thinks are typical noises from the jungle.

"I'm going to go clean the dishes," Kisa declares suddenly, picking up the bowl and spoon and promptly leaving the hut.

Maes looks at Kyo in confusion. The teen merely shakes his head and presses a finger to his own lips, indicating for Maes to remain silent. Several minutes pass before both hear Kisa speaking to someone just outside the door.

"Evening, Cadre Osamu," Kisa's voice greets solemnly.

"Evening, Friend Kisa," an unfamiliar male voice greets back.

Maes watches Kyo freeze in place as he turns to fearfully watch the doorway as the voice of Cadre Osamu continues speaking.

"I've received reports that there is another occupant in your quarters. Is that true?"

"Yes, Cadre Osamu," Kisa replies promptly.

Maes tenses, wondering if he was just sold out.

"Care to explain why there is another occupant when there are only supposed to be three?"

"Yes, Cadre Osamu. Our mother's cousin was chased out of his work camp northeast of here. I believe he stated it was Cadre Shinobou's camp. I'm not sure since he was incoherent with fever when he found us. How he managed to find us in his condition, I'm not certain either, but we took him in to express our commitment to building the People's Nation. Since there is a shortage of able-bodied men, it would demonstrate how well our camp operates should he recover to return to contributing to the benefit of the people."

"Yes, Cadre Shinobou still struggles with running his camp as successfully as mine," Osamu muses smugly before adding, "I applaud your efforts in wishing to strengthen the People's Nation. You are correct, able bodied men are in demand."

"He's embarrassed to have been chased out of Cadre Shinobou's camp," Kisa adds. "But his commitment toward contributing to the success of the People's Nation is strong and I believe is what drove him to seek us out."

"With that kind of commitment he should not have been chased from his camp," Osamu scoffs. "I would like to welcome your cousin and wish him a quick recovery."

"Certainly, Cadre Osamu," Kisa agrees. "At Friend Kyo's suggestion, you might wish to tie a kerchief over your mouth for protection."

"A kerchief? Why should I do that?" Osamu asks baffled.

Kisa sighs dramatically. "Friend Kyo is being too careful in my opinion. I don't think our cousin is contagious, but he is suspecting leprosy. I doubt this as that is not a common sickness, but Friend Kyo travels farther to his work fields and interacts with more of our friends than I do."

"Leprosy?" Osamu's voice squeaks fearfully. "Then don't worry about it. I trust he will recover and thrive under your care. As for your other duty, I will permit you and Friend Kyo to alternate every other night since there are two members of your household that need caring for. Tonight you both are exempt from your duty, but tomorrow Friend Kyo shall begin that rotation."

"You are too kind, Cadre Osamu," Kisa acknowledges solemnly. "We will do our best to aid our ailing friends to recover quickly to return to serving the people."

"Goodnight to you, Friend Kisa."

"Goodnight to you, Cadre Osamu," Kisa replies.

Maes watches Kyo close his eyes and sag slightly in relief before finishing bandaging his torso. They all remain silent until Kisa finally returns several minutes later.

"Nice job, sister," Kyo compliments as she reenters the hut with the clean bowl and spoon in her hands.

"More a lucky fool," Kyoko scoffs, struggling into a sitting position.

Finally getting a good look at Kyoko, Maes agrees with Kyo's assessment that the woman is dying. He guesses she is about his age, maybe older by a few years and possibly in her mid thirties. Her greasy, pale blonde hair lifelessly frames her face, draping down her shoulders. She's painfully thin where he would describe her as skeletal, her eyes nearly bulging from sunken sockets.

Kisa doesn't respond to either comment as she sets the bowl and spoon down and proceeds to work on making something to eat for all of them.

"Sister came up with a great explanation, Kyoko," Kyo glares, pausing in removing the bandage on Maes' shoulder. "I never would've thought of what she came up with."

"She's had years of practice covering and lying for you and our brothers," Kyoko fires back. "Seems to be about the only skill she's good for as she's failed at everything else."

When Kyo opens his mouth, Kisa quietly interrupts him. "It won't be long until I have something ready if you both feel like eating."

Maes watches Kyo regard his sister who silently pleads with him to drop it. Sighing in resignation he replies, "Sure. I could probably eat something."

Relief floods her eyes as she turns her attention back to her cooking.

Feeling the weight of someone staring at him, Maes glances over to meet Kyoko's gold eyes staring hard at him.

Before he can make any sort of comment, she tersely states, "My youngest siblings didn't do you any favors saving you. I hope you heal fast because the longer you stay, the more painfully you will die."

Kyo glares hard at his sister, but Maes beats him to replying by quipping, "With such a warm welcome, it'll be hard to return home."

Kyoko looks affronted before narrowing her gaze at him and turning to look elsewhere in a huff.

Kyo blinks in surprise before a wide grin spreads across his face at Maes who merely winks back. Neither comments as the teen finishes re-bandaging his shoulder and help ease the older man back down onto the bedroll.

After a quiet meal, Kyo scouts outside again while Kisa cleans up their dishes. When he signals all's clear, Kisa moves to sit close to Maes and in a low voice picks up her earlier explanation.

"One of things the People's Army did was drive all the city dwellers far from their homes into the countryside. We couldn't take anything that separated us from anyone else, like books because that'd make a person more educated than their neighbors. We were discouraged from taking personal items like photographs because being close to our family separates us from our neighbors. We couldn't bring any radios because we only need to know what they tell us and accept it."

"We were told we weren't going far from the cities, but we marched for days. We're originally from Tenerife which is located in the south toward the coast and it took a week for us to get here on foot." At Maes' shocked expression, Kisa nods, adding, "I don't mean small groups of forty people, I actually mean the entire city. Thousands of citizens of Tenerife had to constantly walk from sunrise to sunset. It was hard and a lot of people died along the way, especially young children and the elderly."

Maes watches her and Kyo's gaze become distant with memory as she briefly falls silent.

"So we ended up in these camps monitored and run by the poor country people who were recruited by the People's Army," Kisa sighs wearily. "We were sorted like laundry. The younger children stayed with their parents and the older ones sent to other camps nearby where the genders were separated further. We are expected to slave for hours in the rice fields regardless of age or health. If one of the cadres thinks someone messed up, they're made an example of in front of everyone. Their rations could be cut, or they would be beaten, or worse."

"Sister," Kyo interrupts, capturing both her and Maes' attention. "We should go to bed since we still have to report to the fields tomorrow."

Kisa nods before looking back down at Maes. "I'm sorry, uncle. There is a lot more to tell so you'll understand what it's like here, but Kyo is right. We have to leave in the morning and won't be back until around dusk. We won't be able to come check on you, so if you need to relieve yourself, we'll set an old saucepan for you to use. Unfortunately, you won't be able to eat until we are given our daily rations at the end of the day. We could give you some of the rations you had in your knapsack, but I'm not sure your stomach can handle anything stronger than the rice gruel I made. However, if you want to try it, we'll move your knapsack closer so you can access it."

Maes merely nods in acceptance. He has so many questions, but understands he's going to have to wait for the twins to tell him. He listens and watches the two settle on their bedrolls nearby and it's not long before they drift off into exhausted sleep.

It takes him a long time to fall asleep that night. He's surprised since he barely woke up earlier after a week of delirium, but there's a lot to think about despite feeling worn out and sluggish.

It certainly doesn't take a genius to know he's landed in some deep shit.

He reads the papers everyday and keeps up on the current events in other nations. To not know that Azambra went through a coup and had become so isolated from the rest of the world is extremely unsettling.

At first he wasn't sure whether to believe the twins when they first started explaining what happened. However, there is no way they could make up what they've shared so far nor successfully fake the level of terror they showed when the cadre stopped by earlier.

For a brief moment he was certain Kisa had sold him out. Not that he could blame her. He has a feeling that Cadre Osamu's visit wasn't a random one. He's lost an entire week and blood loss can make a man delirious. If he got too loud, someone could've overheard him. Taking into consideration how jumpy Kisa and Kyo are at every shadow he's sure that's what happened.

Yet, Kisa did a masterful job handling the situation. She used enough of the truth to avoid suspicion and mixed in enough of a lie to keep the cadre from wanting to return anytime soon. He thinks it might've been easier if she had given him up. However, he gets the feeling that she was protecting her family just as much as she was protecting him.

His final thought before finally drifting off into sleep is how in the hell he's going to get out of this mess.

* * *

_**A/N**: *dusts hands off* _

_And that, my friends, kicks off not only a brand, spanking new story, but my first FMA fic._

_In case you haven't figured it out yet, this is an alternate reality fic that mostly follows the manga/Brotherhood anime with a few tweaks. However, I had always hated that Hughes had to die. Not content to let things be, I figured out a plausible way to have him live. You just have to wait until later to find out how. ;P_

_What makes this particular story a challenge is that it's the first time I'm working with an original character. I typically do gender benders. However, this OC will not be typical like the majority found in this fandom. Give it a chance and you'll see what I mean._

_For those enjoying my Naruto fics, I have not given up on them. My plot bunnies insisted on working on this. I already have a chapter started on most of my Naruto fics and now that I have this one underway, I can focus on finishing those up._

_Thank you for taking the time to read and if you're so inclined, please feel free to drop a review._


	2. Chapter 2

He is going out of his mind.

If he ever gets laid up in a hospital ever again, Maes swears he's never going to bitch about being bored.

It's not that Kisa and Kyo haven't done a fantastic job taking care of him over the past week despite their circumstances. It's just that at least in a hospital he can count on getting a magazine or a newspaper to read. Maybe there'd be a visitor or two during the day. If not, there are always doctors and nurses checking on the patient's condition and maybe spending a few minutes chatting with them. Depending on the injury, the patient might be lucky enough to leave the room to go for a short walk or get a ride in a wheelchair.

Each day he only gets to look forward to twelve hours of either staring through the shadowed gloom of the ceiling or struggling to sit up to stare at his surroundings. Even if he were mobile enough, he doesn't dare contemplate leaving the hut.

The twins make up for it when they are home. Despite coming in exhausted at the end of each day, they spend the rest of their time before going to bed seeing to his every need and talking to him.

Unfortunately, during the day he only has his thoughts to keep him company, thinking over all the things he's learned so far. And so far, they've been bleak, unsettling, depressing and fearful.

The twins shocked him when they explained that the nightmare they're currently living started when they were eight. Now they're thirteen and have endured all this for five years. Since then, they've had to watch their large family dwindle down to the three of them. Their parents, five older brothers and the spouses and children of the two oldest brothers slowly died off from being sent to reeducation, overwork and malnutrition.

He recalls that night when Kyo first started explaining when it all began after he and Kisa made sure there weren't any eavesdroppers outside.

"The People's Army claim reeducation is a way to 'reeducate' people into participating better in their new way of life, but we all know by now that anyone sent for reeducation is never seen alive again. We've heard rumors that they are sent to torture prisons."

Kyo paused as Kisa excused herself and left the hut. Sighing heavily, he continued without commenting on her departure.

"Our father and three oldest brothers got sent to reeducation not long after we got here. We later heard they were marched out into the nearest field and had to dig their own graves. Once they were done, the soldiers shot them as they stood in the holes they dug. Now the soldiers of the People's Army don't waste the bullets. They supposedly use tools like pickaxes or sledgehammers. The cadres definitely do that when they deal out death sentences."

That explanation certainly went a long way in helping Maes understand better the twins' fear of getting caught. It also adds to his brooding thoughts during the long hours.

Besides, Kyoko is lousy company. He alternates between pitying the poor woman and despising her brusque attitude. Kisa had pointed out to him that Kyoko used to be far more personable toward guests, but losing her husband and children and slowly wasting away has made her bitter and caustic.

Although it's a good reason for the older woman's behavior, it doesn't stop Maes from getting annoyed with Kyoko. Especially when she denigrates the twins, Kisa in particular. However, there are moments when he can truly sympathize with the woman's plight.

Sighing into the stillness, he figures it could be a lot worse. He's in a very bad situation, but at least he's not in the hands of the enemy.

It's been hours since the twins left for the day, but it'll be another six or so before they return for the night. With a few grunts and a mumbled curse, he struggles to sit upright to ease the ache in his tired back. With nothing better to do, he pulls out a few photos of his precious wife and daughter. A small smile graces his lips as he recalls certain memories and wonders what they're up to today.

"Are those pictures of your family?"

Maes looks over in surprise at Kyoko who is gazing up at him over from where she's laying on her side of the dead fire.

"Yes, they are," he admits honestly and then asks, "But how'd you guess?"

"Because you have the look of a happy family man," she explains, her tone soft and sad. "It's the same look my husband Yasu used to have."

He lets the silence stretch out, uncertain how to respond when she surprises him by speaking again.

"Yasu was a simple family man who had the misfortune of being known as a supporter of the monarchy. Although, he wasn't a political activist or any sort of outspoken supporter, one night he became one of the disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Maes asks in confusion.

Kyoko's eyes continue growing distant as she nods. "Azambra has been in political strife for years, but the time after the coup changed everything. Once those bastards in the People's Army took over, their perceived enemies began disappearing. The soldiers showed up one night and knocked on our door. They said they needed to speak with Yasu and ask him a few questions. Yasu was not a man to defy authority, so he readily agreed and they said he'd be back by morning. We never saw him again."

Maes waits patiently in grim silence as she pauses, struggling to control her emotions.

"Rumors spread that the disappeared were taken to the sports arena where the national football team used to play their home games," she continues. "It was whispered that the People's Army converted it into a makeshift prison and interrogation center. Some rumors said the entire field became a makeshift graveyard and when they ran out of room, you could see black smoke billowing into the air day and night carrying the stink of burning flesh."

"As further insult," she grits out hoarsely, "those bastards forced me and my two children from the home Yasu built for us. I ended up burying my youngest son on the road to this hellhole and buried my oldest son last year when he died from dysentery."

Closing his eyes against the horrors her words conjures up, Maes' heart aches for the grieving mother as she silently cries until regaining control again.

"No mother should have to watch her children suffer or end up burying them," she states bitterly. "I'm glad Yasu didn't live to watch our boys die."

Maes lets the silence stretch out again. There is nothing he can say that'd be appropriate and not end up sounding insulting. He's surprised when Kyoko speaks again.

"I hope you are lucky enough to see your family again."

Maes answers with the only thing he can think of to say.

"Thank you."

Without another word, Kyoko shifts away from him onto her side. Maes listens to her anguished tears as he grimly gazes down at the smiling visages of Elicia and Gracia.

* * *

Another week passes and Maes is now certain he's going to die of boredom before anything else can kill him.

Although he's moving around better, his wounds are slow to heal. Not surprising as he's not exactly recuperating in the best of conditions. Plus, he's still in no shape to even think of trying to make it back to Amestris. He's got to be stronger before he can make the attempt or he will die trying.

Glancing outside through the doorway, he notes the long shadows. It's nearly dusk. Good. His boredom for the day will soon be over. Easing back into a sitting position, he smiles as the twins come trudging in from their day.

Maes doesn't bat an eye when both immediately change out of their dirty clothing into cleaner ones. He simply closes his eyes to give Kisa some privacy while Kyo turns his back to her. He was shocked the first time they did that without any regard to their privacy, but Kyo explained afterward that although their old customs would find the situation extremely scandalous, to attempt to seek privacy just to change would be viewed as suspicious by the cadres.

Once they're done, Kisa begins making them the usual bland rice she makes every night. Like clockwork, she apologizes when she hands Maes his bowl.

"I'm sorry I can't offer you better or more to help you regain your strength, uncle."

"Kisa," Maes smiles softly, shaking his head fondly. "What you made is fine. You've got to work with one cup of rice a day for each of us as our food rations, so it's not like it can be helped."

"She should stop making excuses," Kyoko scolds as she finishes her rice.

Maes watches Kisa's eyes drop in shame as she silently moves to give Kyo his share. He feels bad for the verbal abuse the girl endures. Nothing she does is ever right in Kyoko's eyes. The older woman never misses a chance to point out Kisa's failure at becoming a proper woman.

"Sister isn't making excuses, Kyoko, so quit making stuff up to make her feel bad," Kyo snaps angrily.

"Her inability to live up to mother's teachings proves my point," Kyoko snaps back, launching into a tirade. "She's always apologizing for something and stating it's for reasons beyond her control. She's failed to learn despite mother's best efforts. And part of that is our brother's and your fault! All of you treated her like she was one of you, usurping our mother's attempts to bring Kisa up right. She should be preparing to get married and starting a family. However, thanks to you boys' and the People's Army, she's incapable of fulfilling her proper role!"

"Sister is smarter and deserves better than just being a perfect housewife like you and mother," Kyo hisses angrily. "Neither of you ever gave her enough credit."

"Please stop," Kisa pleads on the verge of tears. "We'll be overheard and we shouldn't waste the precious time we have left fighting."

"You're both just waiting for me to die so you can forget your upbringing," Kyoko scoffs.

Kisa rushes out of the hut in tears, effectively ending their argument, while Kyo glares angrily at Kyoko.

"Why do you always tear sister down?" Kyo finally asks quietly. "Can't you see she's doing the best she can? There's no way in hell she can become a proper woman like you want with the way things are now."

Kyoko is silent before wearily answering, "Kisa still holds out hope I'll survive. She claims to accept I'm dying, but it's a lie. How can she look to the future if she's clinging to those lies?" she asks, pausing to let Kyo think about her words. "I'm doing what I can to break Kisa of her fantasies. She's incapable of surviving on her own."

Glaring at her younger brother, she adds, "You and our brothers always treated her like one of boys, but you also shielded and protected her. She doesn't even know how to protect herself like a boy, so what will happen if you die? Do you really think she'll survive on her own?" she asks. Not giving Kyo a chance to answer, she continues, "I'm trying to get her to embrace our parent's teachings, so she can find a husband to take care of her. Otherwise, our entire family is lost with no legacy left to remember us."

The silence stretches out as Maes and Kyo finish eating and Kyoko settles back down on her bedroll, too tired to continue arguing. Kyo dishes out the remaining rice into a bowl and then gathers up the remaining dirty dishes and leaves, likely to find Kisa and make sure she eats something.

Maes knows the boy won't be back until much later. It's his turn to be gone that night. Ever since Cadre Osamu stopped by nearly two weeks ago, the twins have alternated being gone for about three or four hours every night. Neither reveal where they go, but they usually return tense and withdrawn.

He worries if Kisa is okay, but is relieved when she returns not long after Kyo leaves with their clean dishes in hand.

Maes watches the girl in silence as she works around the hut. He can tell she's upset, but there isn't anything he can say, not without risking triggering more of Kyoko's cruel words. He doesn't like the woman's twisted logic, but their situation is far too dangerous for him to challenge her on Kisa's behalf.

And, in a sense, Kyoko has a point. Even he can't deny the likelihood of the twins surviving isn't very good. They obviously aren't in the best health, especially with the meager rations they're given. There's no way they can supplement those rations, not without risking punishment.

Kisa once explained scavenging for wild fruits or berries is perceived by the cadres as 'personal enterprise' and is punishable by death. Not that they don't risk it, but they have to be very careful not to get caught. Unfortunately, even wild fruits and berries are very hard to find as people are quick to harvest them as soon as they can.

It had taken awhile, but Maes finally understood Kyo's statement that first night regarding there being no one to sell their scavenged items to. All commerce had effectively been eliminated. They can't even buy or sell anything to supplement their rations.

It certainly doesn't help that the twins keep giving him more than his share. He didn't fail to notice Kisa gave him more rice than anyone else. He also noticed her gradually giving him most of rations they scavenged off his comrades.

When he challenged them on it, Kyo's feeble excuse was that he stumbled into their hell and doesn't deserve to suffer with them. So he tried being stubborn and insisting they stop giving him extra food, but both threatened to sit on him and force-feed him. Brats.

Sighing softly, Maes follows Kisa's lead and settles down for the night. He knows she's going to stay awake, just like he will, until Kyo returns home. Her mind is probably still too active to shut down anyway. However, it's clear she's not interested in having any sort of conversation to occupy the time until Kyo returns and he's not going to push her.

Not for the first time he wonders how in the hell things could've been allowed to come to this in Azambra. He has no trouble understanding how the surrounding nations can turn a blind eye to what is happening. Having been a part of the Ishavalan extermination he knows first hand just how cruel Amestris can be.

Maybe further conversations with Kisa and Kyo will reveal the answers. He's just not sure if there's enough time for him to find out.

Two hours later his musings are interrupted by Kyo's return. He listens as the boy moves around the hut before laying down on his bedroll.

"You and uncle don't have to wait up for me, sister. You both need your rest," Kyo whispers quietly, breaking the silence.

Kisa doesn't answer, causing Kyo to sigh wearily. Maes decides to try lightening the mood.

"As a father it's in my nature to worry needlessly and wait up until the children are home safe and tucked snugly in bed," he states solemnly.

He can hear the amusement in Kyo's voice. "It's easier than being woken up by the police knocking on the door explaining they arrested said children and being asked if you can bail them out, isn't it?"

"I'd let you rot overnight," Maes quips, causing Kyo to chuckle softly. Becoming serious, he adds, "I know you probably can't talk about what you do, but I hope you two aren't doing anything dangerous."

"If I tell you where we go and what we do, will you think less of us, uncle?" Kyo asks hesitantly after along pause.

Maes is a little taken aback by the statement, but quickly recovers to firmly reply, "Never. I'd never think any less of you two."

The silence stretches out so long, Maes wonders if Kyo drifted off to sleep from exhaustion.

"The reason we warned you about being very careful about what you say is because we never know who's listening," Kyo finally whispers quietly. "Sometimes, we're the ones listening."

He lets Maes mull over his words for a few moments before continuing. "When we were younger, sister and I were recruited and trained as informants. We had always been small for our age, so we were perfect candidates. We could easily crawl underneath huts like this one and listen to what's being said inside. We're not as small anymore, but we're very good at sneaking up to listen through the cracks in the boards. Every night we go to other huts around here or in different camps. Our job is to report on anything contrary to the edicts and teachings of the People's Army."

"You have to spy on your neighbors?" Maes whispers in surprise.

"Yes," Kyo admits, his voice heavy with shame. "We're not the only ones, so we can be spied on just as easily. That's why we're so careful with our words. The consequences of saying the wrong thing usually means death for an entire family, either being executed by the cadres or getting sent to reeducation."

"How did they trick you into becoming an informant?" Maes asks hesitantly, fearing the answer.

"There wasn't any trickery involved," Kisa answers quietly, surprising both of them. "We weren't given a choice. Examples were made immediately of those who refused. Their parents and siblings would be killed right before the candidate's eyes before it was their turn."

The silence stretches out again, but this time Maes breaks it. "We should all get some sleep. You two especially need your rest in order to do your jobs right or you'll get penalized. We can talk more later."

It's a few heartbeats before Kyo whispers, "Thank you."

Maes listens as the two shift in their bedrolls and fall asleep. He remains awake for a long time. In such a short time despite being restricted to the hut he's learned so much and wonders how in the hell these kids managed to survive this long.

He supposes that's simply another characteristic the twins share with Ed and Al. At first, he thought they merely looked identical to the two older boys, but even the few hours he spends with them, he keeps seeing more and more similarities.

Both Kyo and Kisa remind him of the Elrics with their determination to keep moving forward. Grinning to himself in the darkness, he finds it ironic that although Kisa looks like Ed, Kyo seems closer to him in personality by being more playful, upfront and quick to defend his sister. Like Ed, she's observant and then there are those glimpses of a quick temper, especially when Kyo annoys her just right. However, she's quiet, tending to blend into the background and tolerating a lot more.

As much as he thinks Kyo is closer to Ed in personality, he can see the similarities to Al. He's definitely protective of Kisa and devoted to her like Al tends to be toward Ed.

Shifting into a more comfortable position, Maes realizes he hasn't said one word to Kyo and Kisa about her double in Amestris. Suppressing the urge to chuckle, he just knows the boy is going to gleefully torment his sister over that. Since they opened themselves up to scorn by sharing with him what's obviously a very sensitive subject and telling him about being informants, he's just going to have to share some of his life and tell them about Ed and Al.

* * *

Maes wastes the next two days trying to figure out the best way to tell the twins about Ed. It never seems the right time or he can't find the right way to bring it up. He considers just blurting it out, but he's never had very good luck at being blunt like that. For some reason people have a tendency to think he's joking.

He finally stumbles on his opportunity by accident as the twins sit with him before dinner.

"You believed that, Kyo?" Maes asks with a laugh.

Refusing to answer, Kyo pouts while Kisa smirks, "He did. Kazuki liked trying to convince us the unlikeliest things were true."

"Kazuki is your second oldest brother, right?"

"No, uncle, he's our third oldest. He was about six years older than us." When Maes nods in understanding, she continues. "Kazuki could be very convincing, so it wasn't hard for him to trick Kyo into thinking if he stripped down naked and wrapped a sheet around his body it'd make him invisible like a ghost. When Kyo was skeptical, Kazuki suggests he try it during a dinner party our parents were hosting. I think it was for father's business associates."

Blushing with embarrassment, Kyo prevents his sister from finishing the tale.

"Excuse me for cutting your amusement at my expense short, sister, but you wanted me to remind you to wash your headscarf and lay it out to dry or you won't have anything to protect you from the sun and bugs while out in the fields tomorrow."

"You just don't want me to share something else embarrassing with uncle," she teases, still smiling fondly at him.

"Don't torture him too much, Kisa," Maes playfully admonishes. "Kyo is merely being the annoyingly protective, older brother."

"Kyo's the _**baby**_ of the family," Kisa hisses sharply, surprising Maes.

Arching a brow, he turns at Kyo's chuckling.

"There's not much that'll make sister mad, uncle, but mistaking her for the baby of the family is guaranteed to put your life at risk."

"Especially when you go out of your way to feed that misconception, _little_ brother," she snaps, narrowing her eyes dangerously at him.

Maes can't resist joining in Kyo's chuckling, causing her to glare at him too before turning away and crossing her arms in a huff.

"So much like him," Maes muses absently.

"Like who?" Kyo asks in curiosity.

Startled, Maes blinks at Kyo owlishly before his lips quirk into a smile. "Glad you asked. I've been meaning to tell you two about a boy I know in Amestris. He's about two years older than you and his name is Edward. I wasn't sure how to bring it up, but Kisa looks just like him."

Kyo gapes at Maes in surprise as a Kisa turns from her pout to frown in confusion at him.

"You know a boy who looks a lot like sister?" Kyo asks incredulously.

"Identical," Maes nods. "Except for their gender, obviously," he smirks at Kisa's annoyed scowl. "And what's ironic is that they act a bit alike too. At first, I thought they just looked alike, but sometimes Kisa says or does something and I've had to catch myself and not call her 'Ed."

"You're serious?" Kyo phrases it more as a statement than a question, prompting Maes to nod again.

"Is that why you looked so surprised when we first met, uncle?" Kisa quietly asks, forgetting her irritation at learning her look-a-like is a boy. "Because your face was fierce like an attacking soldier, but then it was like you had just seen a ghost."

"Yes," Maes smiles warmly before becoming apologetic. "I'm so sorry for scaring you. I didn't know if you were friend or foe and I wasn't about to go down without a fight."

"It's okay, uncle, you didn't hurt me," Kisa replies, smiling back softly in return.

"This look-a-like must be more intelligent and capable than Kisa," Kyoko weakly scoffs from her usual place.

Kisa's smile drops with her gaze to the floor as Kyo scowls angrily across the fire at his older sister.

Warding off another fight, Maes comments, "I don't know about him being more intelligent as Ed sometimes lands himself and his brother into some idiotic situations. He's just as capable of getting out of trouble as much as he gets into it. Ed definitely has a worse temper than Kisa and an even fouler mouth. Especially if he thinks you're calling him short."

Throwing one last glare at Kyoko, Kyo refocuses his attention on Maes.

"He gets mad if people call him short?" he sniggers.

"Or any variation of that term if he thinks you mean his height," Maes answers offhandedly.

"I wouldn't get mad at being called 'short'," Kisa mumbles.

"But you would if you get called the youngest," Kyo teases.

Kisa glares, snapping, "It's the principle of the matter! It's also the truth. I was born first."

"By a whole minute, sister," Kyo grins at her narrowed gaze.

"I'm going to go wash before it gets later," she growls before grabbing what she needs and leaving the two males to grin after her.

"Why do you always tease her like that?" Maes asks turning to Kyo.

Sighing resignedly, he explains, "I'm trying to get her to smile more. I miss her smile. I can't even think of the last time she's laughed. I know there's not much to be happy about, but I hate that it's such a rare occurrence."

"She'll smile again someday, Kyo," Maes reassures the teen.

Turning to gaze out the doorway, Kyo nods absently, "Because the broken glass will sink someday." Turning back to Maes, he smiles at the man's confused expression. "There's an old saying that pretty much fits what's been going on here in Azambra. It's something like when broken glass floats, the seeds will sink, but in time the glass will sink and the seeds will rise again. I know I screwed up the phrasing, but right now, the evil that is the broken glass is in charge of Azambra and the seeds, the people, have sunk in the water. Someday the seeds will rise and make things right again."

"Still sounds fairly poetic and is a good way of looking at things," Maes smiles.

"It's hard holding onto that hope," Kyo admits with a shrug. "Because everyone is gone, but it's all we have left. I just hope the waiting will end soon. Anyway, I want to know more about sister's double and his brother."

Grinning, Maes shares what he can, but lies about having never met Al. He has no idea how to explain the fact he doesn't know what Al looks like and doesn't feel it's his place to share the reason why Al's soul is bound to a suit of armor.

It isn't long before Kisa joins them and starts asking her own questions. She continues chatting with Maes while Kyo takes his turn again as an informant until he returns and they all turn in for the night.

* * *

There's even less for anyone to smile about three days later.

The twins go through their normal morning routine. Kyo's part is to help Maes with the usual embarrassing ritual of struggling to go to the bathroom in a decrepit, old saucepan with the least amount of mess. He can't lift himself into position without Kyo's help since his wounds still aren't healed enough.

He tried doing it by himself once, but slightly tore open one of the larger shrapnel wounds in his side, causing it to start bleeding again. He was trying to avoid asking Kisa because it's even more embarrassing to have her help him take a crap.

Kisa's routine is to wake Kyoko for the day. She hasn't been sleeping well, worrying over her older sister and getting up frequently during the night to check on the woman. Kyoko's body bloated from edema over the past few days and refused to eat more than a couple of bites Kisa managed to coax into her. Kisa really started to worry yesterday when Kyoko stopped talking altogether and grew increasingly unresponsive.

"Kyoko's dead," Kisa's voice cracks, grabbing both males' attention.

Sighing heavily, Kyo suggests, "Gather what you can so we can swath her body. I'll help you when I finish here and once we're done with that I'll go notify a cadre."

Kisa's only reply is to move about the room checking to see what they have that she can use.

Kyo refocuses back on Maes. "Once we finish swathing Kyoko, I've got to go get some help to bury her. Sister will use some bandages to wrap you up in. We need to keep up with the leprosy lie or someone might question why you look so healthy."

Maes nods and finishes up so Kyo can help Kisa wrap Kyoko's body in old clothing.

After Kyo leaves a half hour later, Kisa brings over one of the last three rolls of gauzy wrap and begins loosely wrapping his neck, working up to his head.

"It has to look like you're still suffering from leprosy," she explains in a subdued voice. "It'll also look like you're still contagious to those who don't know better."

Maes studies her face, noting the dark circles under her eyes contrasting starkly against the pale skin of her face, the strain of taking care of Kyoko clearly evident.

"Are you all right?" he finally asks.

Avoiding his eyes, Kisa pauses in thought, letting the silence stretch out before finally admitting, "I'm scared. Everyone is gone. What if I lose Kyo too?" Tears stray from her eyes as she adds in a hoarse whisper, "I don't want to be alone."

Reaching over, Maes gently grasps her hand and squeezes it, causing her to focus on his partially wrapped face.

"You're not alone, Kisa," he reassures her. "Your focus should be on surviving right now, not on what could be. It might be enough to get both you and Kyo through this."

Kisa blinks in surprise, processing his words as he continues smiling gently. Taking a deep, shuddering breath she mutters, "I need to finish before Kyo returns with the others."

Squeezing her hand one more time in reassurance, he nods before releasing her to finish wrapping him up. Minutes later Kyo returns with four men. Maes barely gets a wary glance from them as they hurry to remove Kyoko's body. Chuckling inwardly, he makes a mental note to use leprosy as a scare should the need ever arise again.

While the men leave the hut with Kyoko's body, Kyo turns to Kisa. "I'm going to oversee Kyoko's burial. I'll be back afterward because Cadre Osamu gave us today off from all our duties. Stay and rest because you look tired, sister."

With her eyes tearing up, Kisa doesn't answer Kyo, but looks away. Sighing heavily, he pulls her into a fierce hug, which she returns with equal ferocity.

Reluctantly pulling back, she starts pushing him toward the door.

"You can't keep them waiting," she urges him, her voice thick and cracking with emotion.

Once he leaves, Kisa goes to fill a bucket with water and grabs a dilapidated scrub brush. Completely ignoring Kyo's suggestion, she starts cleaning up the area where Kyoko had lain. When she died her body promptly expelled the excess fluid from the edema, creating a large puddle that seeped through the floorboards.

Sitting up, Mae's removes the bandages from his head taking his time rolling them up while watching Kisa scrub the floor as best as she can. He can barely make out her soft sobs over the sound of her scrubbing.

When she's finished and puts her cleaning supplies away Maes calls her over.

"Kisa, can you please come here for a minute?"

He can tell she just wants to go somewhere and cry alone, but she reluctantly comes over to him.

"Do you need something, uncle?" she asks, refusing to look him in the eyes.

Reaching out, he gently pulls her into a hug.

She struggles against him a little, gently pushing against his chest to pull out of his hold, but stills when he whispers in her ear.

"If I could, I'd take you and Kyo away from all this right now. I can't." He sighs softly when he feels her shaking before continuing. "It's okay to cry for what you lost, but don't forget what you have left. There's Kyo and, for what it's worth, you can count on me too."

Kisa stiffens slightly before relaxing further into his embrace and sobbing earnestly into his chest. Maes gently strokes her hair, murmuring assurances and encouragement to let it out. It takes a long time until she finally quiets down, gradually curling until her head is resting in his lap. Leaning over, he smiles softly at seeing she exhausted herself into sleep.

It isn't much longer until Kyo returns. He blinks in confusion at Kisa fast asleep and resting her head in Maes' lap.

"She ignored you and cleaned up where Kyoko laid," he points over to Kyoko's side of the fire at the dampened wood. "I called her over and hugged her, saying she should cry, but not to forget she still has us."

Settling next to Maes' legs in front of Kisa, Kyo smiles softly while reaching out and gently stroking her hair.

"Sister holds too much in," he explains quietly. "She never protests or complains about anything and will needlessly suffer for us, protecting us. She'd lie, cheat and steal if we asked her to. She'd be ruthless in trivial things like getting the last piece of cake, but would take a beating instead of snitching our brothers and I out to our parents."

Smiling sadly down at his sister, Kyo adds, "Kyoko is gone and we can run away, but we don't have anywhere to go. If we tried leaving Azambra, we'll probably get shot the moment cross the border."

"Not if you came to Amestris and I sponsor you two," Maes muses, causing Kyo to gape at him stupidly.

"Sponsor us…wait, you mean for sister and I to come to Amestris?"

"Yep."

"Why would you do that? You don't know us!"

Maes can't resist chuckling at the teen. "I can ask you the same thing. Why did you two help me? I've had enough time to watch you two and talk to you. I think I know you well enough. I also think it's the least I can do for you two," he smiles fondly.

"It's not like we have a future here," Kyo muses. "Even if Azambra is freed tomorrow, it'd be hard finding jobs. And there's nothing to keep us here. Kyoko was the last of our immediate family. The rest I don't know if they're alive, but even if they are, they won't care what happens to us. Since our family home was destroyed before our forced migration we've literally got nothing."

"Starting over in Amestris would be a huge leap in restarting your lives," Maes reasons. Becoming serious, he adds, "Besides, I may need your help getting back into Amestris. The risk of getting caught increases longer I stay."

"And with the poor rations, it'll take you too long to heal and you probably won't heal right," Kyo sighs heavily.

"Exactly," Maes nods. "Plus, I've got to get back to see if I can do something about what's going on here." At Kyo's stunned look, he explains, "Things can't be left alone here. Power mad thugs like the People's Army always want more, so they're likely to attempt to infiltrate into other nations."

"True," Kyo agrees, his gaze darkening with anger. "Their utopia is failing and their slaves dying out everyday. They'd be looking for new _resources_ to try achieving their goals. But we shouldn't be talking about this," he warns with a shake of his head. "I think I'll take a meditative walk and you can maybe tell me more about where you're from."

Maes remains silent and watches Kyo slip outside to scout the area. Absently stroking Kisa's hair, he patiently waits until the young blond returns, signaling all's clear before they fall into quietly discussing Amestris. Maes shares what it's like and tells Kyo more about his family. Periodically, the boy takes random walks outside, making sure there aren't any unwanted visitors.

Eventually, Kisa wakes up and joins their conversation. She's surprised and tears up at Maes' offer to sponsor them. She agrees it's a good idea before bombarding him with questions along with Kyo.

Seeing their eagerness and the renewed hope shining in their eyes convinces Maes that he's got to return to Amestris as soon as possible. If they all stay, chances are very good they'll all die soon and he'd rather see the twins happy and thriving than to let that happen.

* * *

Maes' resolve to return to Amestris quickly is further strengthened a few days later when the twins surprise him by returning to the hut only a couple of hours after leaving for the fields.

"We've all been summoned to an assembly of everyone in the work camps, uncle," Kyo explains while Kisa gathers some fresh clothing for Maes to change into. "I tried getting you excused from it by explaining to one of the cadres that your leprosy has been chronic, which is why you haven't been able to return to the fields yet. I told her I wasn't sure if your condition could spread. She said we had to be apart from everyone and just outside the clearing where the assembly will be held, but we all have to be there."

"Why does this sound like something I probably don't want to go to?" Maes asks, eyeing the two.

"You don't," Kyo admits as Kisa hands him the clothing she found before moving off while he helps Maes change. "The only time we're all summoned to assemble like this is because someone is going to get punished."

"Punished, how?" Maes asks reluctantly as Kyo helps him into a clean pair of pants.

"By getting their head bashed in with some sort of tool. If they're lucky, it'll be a sledgehammer," Kyo replies offhandedly.

Maes wishes Kyo is joking, but can tell by his expression he isn't. He finishes buttoning up the borrowed shirt while Kyo take a roll of gauze from Kisa and begins swathing his head.

"Please hand me your glasses, uncle," Kisa asks quietly.

"Okay," Maes agrees reluctantly, pulling them off and handing them over to her. "But why? I can see okay without them, but it's not exactly comfortable."

"Because it's dangerous for the cadres to see you with glasses," Kyo explains. "When those men came to help me bury Kyoko, they didn't bother looking at you, so they didn't notice you were wearing them, but the cadres aren't so stupid."

"Remember when we were explaining how the People's Army believe everyone has to be equal?" Kisa asks. When Maes' nods, she continues, "That also means no one can be smarter than anyone else and they targeted educated professionals early on. Anyone with glasses is viewed as an intellectual and smarter than everyone else, making them superior."

"Glasses don't necessarily make a person smarter," Maes points out facetiously. "I've known some pretty stupid people who wore glasses."

"So have we," Kyo grins. "But here, perception is everything and can cost you your life," he finishes seriously while tying off the gauze on his head.

With Kisa's help, Kyo bandages his hands to add to the illusion of leprosy. The shirt they gave him is long sleeved so they don't have to go any higher than his wrists. Once they're finished, Kisa moves off again and comes back with a pair of socks and a beat up pair of sandals that are two sizes too small.

Maes is confused at first by the ragged and worn out socks because there is an odd split sewn in the material. The twins help him get them on his feet so his big toe is separated from the rest of his toes.

He understands the purpose of the split better when the sandals go on. He's able to comfortably position his toes around the thong in the front of the sandal before buckling the sling strap on his ankle.

Once he's ready the twins help him struggle to his feet and out the door to join the gathering assembly less than a kilometer away. It's slow going because of Maes' still healing injuries, but they arrive in time for a family of five to be trotted out from a rundown shack in front of the crowd, bound and hanging their heads in fear. A kid about Kyo and Kisa's age is made to stand apart from man and a woman along with two younger children.

A male dressed in a dark brown uniform steps smartly in front of the boy while other similarly dressed adults, who Maes assumes are soldiers, stands behind the prisoners.

"My apologies to all the friends of the People's Army for having to interrupt their industrious duties today to assemble here today to witness the punishment of a traitor and his co-conspirators," the man declares, pointing at the boy and his family accusingly.

Maes doesn't recognize the man's voice, but is sure he's another cadre since Kyo and Kisa had explained they run the work camps and mete out punishments.

"This traitor," the man continues, "failed in his duty to the People's Army and in turn failed in his duty to all of us. The whole is ineffective when the parts refuse to do their job and commits treason with their laziness. One's laziness affects everyone. When a friend to the People's Army turns traitor by not doing their duty, they hurt all of us. We are only successful when every friend does their duty."

Maes tunes the cadre's rambling, repetitive speech out. He understands now that the People's Army could only achieve their schemes through terror and violence since their rhetoric wouldn't have won the stupidest person over. He would've been amused by that thought if the situation weren't so bleak. He's not surprised by the soft sobs and crying from the boy and his family, but is unnerved by the eerie silence of the grimly attentive crowd of about fifty people standing in a semi-circle off to one side of the clearing.

Surreptitiously looking around, he notices that the people are in as bad of shape as the twins, many looking weak and emaciated. The only ones appearing in good health are the cadres, clearly showing who's really benefiting from the hard labors of the people.

His side in particular begins to ache, causing his knees to tremble from the strain. Kyo and Kisa do their best to support him and ease the discomfort. He's not really thankful when the cadre finally finishes his speech nearly an hour later and another cadre appears with a shovel.

"Try not to flinch and don't turn away," Kyo whispers to Maes.

Maes' only response is to take a deep breath as the cadre steps behind the youngest child. He struggles not to react at the sickening sound of the shovel making contact with the back of the little girl's skull, knocking her forward to the ground. He swallows thickly as the cadre drives the shovel down into her throat, causing the twitching body to still while the parents wail in dismay and the remaining children cry harder.

"This is the fate of traitors," the rambling cadre declares loudly over the crying as the other cadre continues with the younger boy. "Not doing your duty affects the whole. Parents have to do their duty to bring up a child right so they don't forget this."

The shovel-wielding cadre wipes his brow after the second child and hands the shovel off to another to continue with the parents.

Maes doesn't fail to notice the rest of the cadres closely scrutinizing the crowd, carefully studying every person as each blow lands on the condemned.

"This traitor," the cadre points accusingly at the boy as the shovel impacts with the father's head, "brings dishonor on his parents. They should've done more to raise their children to understand the true meaning of duty and honor. If raised right, this boy wouldn't have been so selfish in not fulfilling his duty to the whole."

In all, it had taken an hour for them to get to the hysterical boy and drop his body next to his family's corpses.

The cadre makes a grim sight standing in front of the bodies in the blazing, midmorning sun and nonchalantly continues his inane rambling.

"We're all equal and no one should hold themselves apart from the rest. The People's Army works for everyone's good and anyone refusing to aid in our good efforts is being subversive and committing treason. It is important that we all work hard at our assigned duties to strengthen the People's Army."

Pausing dramatically and letting his gaze slowly sweep the crowd for emphasis, the cadre concludes his speech.

"Today everyone will have the day to contemplate what they have witnessed. Use this to bolster your resolve to strengthen the People's Army because our good works benefit everyone, not just the few. So we are obligated to fulfill our duties to continue benefiting the People's Army, your army. Dismissed."

Slowly the crowd melts out of the clearing. Some dared to cast furtive glances at the bodies already attracting a swarm of flies. As the twins help him walk, Maes finds it unnerving the crowd remains silent with no one murmuring or commenting on the disgusting spectacle they had just witnessed.

Neither twin said a word during the entire walk back to their hut. Once there, they both ease a groaning Maes onto his bedroll who sighs gratefully at being off his feet. His side feels like it's on fire and seems to throb painfully with every breath.

After returning his glasses, Kisa grabs a bucket and leaves Kyo to free Maes from his bandages.

"That was rather unforgettable," Maes carefully ventures after Kyo removes the wrap from his head.

Kyo doesn't comment, but pauses long enough to pointedly glance at the walls and floors before gazing intensely into the older man's eyes. His silent message clicks instantly for Maes and he nods his understanding, they shouldn't talk about it.

Kyo finishes removing the bandages when Kisa returns with fresh water for them to drink. No one said much for the rest of the day, which Maes concludes is a good thing since later that night and several times over the next few days his sharp ears picked up unusual noises outside and underneath the hut. He isn't such a city boy not to know it's not an animal moving about. He's certain it's an informant checking on them.

It's well over a week later when the twins finally dare to discuss the punishment they witnessed.

One night after dinner Kisa returns from washing the dishes to sit with Kyo near Maes, quietly murmuring, "All clear."

Maes looks at her in confusion while Kyo gapes in surprise.

"You think it's safe to discuss that now?" he asks his sister.

"Yes," she nods. "They don't have enough informants and typically ease off after a week to resume the normal patrolling routing in other camps. I'll stay alert just in case."

"You always do, sister," Kyo smiles fondly before looking back at a still confused Maes and dropping his voice down to a soft whisper. "The boy who got punished with his family was a former classmate named Haru who was also an informant. The cadres never point out who the informants are and they'd never say the real reason why he got punished. We overheard a couple of cadres gossiping that he had been assigned to spy on his best friend's family and lied about what he heard and got caught."

"I'm surprised they assigned Haru to spy on Jiro's family," Kisa admits softly. "The risk of an informant lying to protect their friends and family is too high despite the threat of punishment."

"Me too," Kyo agrees. "But they wouldn't know that Haru and Jiro were best friends unless Haru told them. He probably thought there'd be no way he'd get caught."

"There are too many eyes and ears and he shouldn't have taken that risk," she muses.

"Haru was stupid," Kyo shakes his head. Refocusing back on an attentively listening Maes, he explains, "We had seen early examples made of those who refused to spy. You just saw it. Cadres don't just punish the individual, but everyone they think might be involved." Sighing heavily he adds, "I wish I were that brave."

Kisa's gaze drops while nodding sadly in agreement.

Maes remains silent. He considers saying he would've done the same in their shoes, but doesn't want to insult them with that lie. He would've been stupid enough to either refuse to comply with the edicts of the People's Army or tried escaping with his family at the first signs of trouble.

"Maybe we need to start planning to leave for Amestris as soon as possible," he finally ventures, shocking the two out of their reverie. "The longer we wait, the harder and more dangerous it's going to get.

"You're still serious about sponsoring us?" Kyo asks hesitantly.

Maes' head tilts down as his eyes narrow into an, 'Are you kidding?' look before saying, "If it was a joke, it had to be one of my worst ones. C'mon, of course I'm serious!"

The twins gaze at each other before joyous grins spread across their faces. Turning to Maes, both clasp their hands in the prayer position but place their hands at their foreheads and bow deeply.

"Thank you, uncle," Kyo whispers gratefully. "You have no idea what this means to us."

"It's far less than you deserve for helping me out like you two have," Maes smiles fondly as they straighten up. "Let's get out of here and later we can figure out who owes what."

The two blondes grin again and nod, falling into a discussion of what had to be done in preparation so they can leave as soon as possible.

* * *

Over the next few days Kyo and Kisa gradually steal whatever extra foodstuffs they can get their hands on from different camps during their nightly rounds, despite the stores being heavily guarded. After Kyoko died they both had to spy instead of taking turns, but it's proving to be a benefit since both can bring back extra food during the night.

It's another week before they're nearly ready to leave on the eve of the camp meeting day. Once a month everyone who is physically able gathers in the main meeting hut to listen to the latest lectures from the People's Army. Many make the effort to attend because not only does it mean a break from the fields, but means better food is served during the evening meal.

The twins agree it's the perfect time to leave since informants are exempt from working the night before the meeting. They spy the night after the meeting to see if anyone is speaking contrary to the edicts of the People's Army.

The kids plan to abandon everything except some precious mementos such as photos and a few family heirlooms. Two days before the meeting Kisa returns Maes' uniform to him from where they'd hidden it.

Kyo and Maes are organizing the knapsacks when she returns from scouting outside with the uniform tucked under an arm.

"Here's your uniform, uncle," Kisa says, handing him the small, neatly folded pile.

"Thanks," Maes smiles. "It'll be a lot easier for us if I have this on when we cross into Amestris. It reduces the risk of getting shot on sight."

"It's best if you wait on changing into it until we're closer to the borders," Kyo suggests. "It'll be risky for you to change, but you're in no condition to make it through the humid jungle with such heavy clothing on."

"No kidding," Maes rolls his eyes. "It was miserable having it on when you two found me."

Unfolding the jacket to inspect the damage, he's surprised to see most of the blood washed from it and the damage mended.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get all the blood out or sew it right," Kisa apologizes. "I had to improvise because we didn't have the right soap or the right thread."

Smiling again, he pulls her into a hug, saying, "All things considered, you did a fantastic job."

Kisa returns the hug before pulling back. Maes and Kyo grin at her embarrassed blush as she goes back to gathering anything else they need.

"We're leaving at nightfall after sister and I come home from the fields," Kyo explains, packing items into his knapsack. "We'll have all night to get as far as we can before our absence is noticed when we don't report to the meeting the next day."

"The cadres will probably think we got sick, brother," Kisa comments, bringing over some more food items.

"Which means they won't be in a hurry to check on you two until you fail to report the next night as informants," Maes muses thoughtfully, closing up his knapsack after packing his uniform.

"It's a good days' head start," Kyo nods, finishing up his knapsack he moves it and the one Maes just closed up off to the side. "And they're not going to know which direction we've headed, nor will they rush to notify the patrols. The cadres are just as susceptible to getting punished for their failures, so they'll try to find us on their own first. They're not as good at tracking like the patrols, so that'll buy us more time."

"Let's get some rest since tomorrow will be a very long day," Kisa suggests, laying down on her bedroll while Kyo and Maes follow suit.

Closing his eyes Maes drifts off, hoping they'll all be back in Amestris within a few days and looking forward to introducing the twins to his family.

* * *

Like clockwork Kyo and Kisa drag themselves in from the fields at dusk the following day. Kisa wastes no time preparing and serving dinner. After cleaning up, the twins change into fresh clothing and lay down for a nap with Maes waking them hours later when it's dark.

The twins help Maes to his feet before retrieving their knapsacks and quietly slipping out into the inky jungle. Fortunately, Maes is more mobile and doesn't need either of the twins to support him. However, they needed to take frequent breaks and can't move very fast because of their weakened conditions.

They're slowed down further over the next few days thanks to the frequent rain showers that often hit without warning. Although hard to move in, the rain provides good cover for them, making them difficult to be seen.

Maes also gets another good reminder of Kisa's similarity to Ed three days into their journey.

Late in the afternoon they take a long break to rest and nap, finding a large cluster of bushes like the ones Maes hid in when they first met nearly two months before. Kyo and Kisa call them Sanctuary bushes, leading Maes to think it's a fitting name. Crawling inside, Maes settles against a tree, while Kyo gathers their knapsacks from them and gestures for Kisa to sit next to Maes.

After piling the knapsacks off to the side, Kyo turns back and sees a scowling Kisa with her arms crossed.

"What?"

"Uncle is still healing and we should be protecting him from exposure by sitting on either side of him. I'm not going to sit in the middle," she grouses.

"Do I smell that bad?" Maes quips facetiously.

Gold eyes narrow further at him.

"We all stink," she grinds out. "That's not the point and you know it."

"Just sit down and rest, sister, we're just doing what real gentlemen are supposed to," Kyo sighs wearily.

"Gentlemen?" Kisa quietly questions incredulously. "That's complete garbage! It has nothing to do with you two being _gentlemen_ and all about you two feeling macho protecting the weak little girl. If you two were being practical then it'd make more sense to flank uncle because he's still injured!" she snaps, pointing at an amused Maes in emphasis.

Kyo gently steers her by the shoulders and none too gently shoves her against Maes. Gazing intensely into her eyes, he says, "As usual, sister, you're blowing things out of proportion and making it seem bigger than it is. Neither of us called you a 'weak little girl' nor is either of us feeling particularly 'macho' right now. You're stuck in the middle. Get over it."

Kyo promptly plops down next to her, completely ignoring her vengeful glare.

"You might want to stop scowling like that, sister," Kyo blithely suggests, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "Otherwise, your face will stay like that permanently."

Maes grins as Kisa's glare intensifies at a seemingly oblivious Kyo. Although the subject matter is significantly different, her rant was similar to Ed's where she took a seemingly harmless comment and made it out to be much worse than it was. It also had to have been the quietest, angry rant he's ever heard. Just another amusing reminder of how much she's like Ed sometimes.

* * *

The next three days are tense as they continue heading northwest to the Amestrian border. The frequent close calls with the People's Army patrols became too numerous to count. Maes is definitely impressed at how well the twins blend into the shadows whenever they had to hide from the patrols.

Despite the normally four-day journey taking six, he knows they're only several hours to the borders. However, they proceed slowly when the twins started spotting a significant number of landmines dusting the entire area.

At the sixth one, he comments, "Boy you two have really sharp eyes to spot those. I barely noticed them."

Kyo sighs heavily before shocking Maes by explaining, "We weren't just trained as informants, uncle, we were also trained to spot and disarm land mines. The People's Army still hunts the rebel factions and they claim the rebels like using land mines."

"I don't think that's true because the rebels wouldn't be hiding in this direction, brother," Kisa comments. "I think it's the People's Army that likes to use them and they need us to spot them because I doubt they keep track of where they lay the fields."

"I think you're right, sister," Kyo nods his agreement. "Anyway, we were trained so if the need arises, we'd be called to find and clear out any land mines so the soldiers of the People's Army can attack the rebels with fewer casualties." Shrugging at Maes' shocked expression, he adds, "This just happens to be the first time we actually used our training."

Remaining silent, Maes shakes his head at the gall of training children to find and disarm mines. Although it's working to their benefit, it still makes him angry.

Despite being slowed by the land mines, they reach the borders late in the afternoon. Climbing up to a nearby ridge they look down at the border and realize to their grim disappointment that crossing may be near impossible.

Several foot guards heavily patrol the No Man's Land dividing Amestris and Azambra. Not wanting to give up so easily, the three continue searching for a possible crossing point, finding a rocky gully less than a kilometer away with some overgrowth that might cover them long enough to cross the border. It transverses the short border fence made of barbed wire making up the borderline by about ten meters. It's a meter and a half deep, but very narrow. Although the main fence is taut across the span of the gully, barbed wire had also been dumped into a pile to fill the opening.

With the guards patrolling nearby, chances are extremely high they'll be shot on sight.

Dejectedly they find a secluded area nearby to safely talk without risking discovery.

"We should wait until nightfall to see if it our chances of sneaking through improve," Maes sighs wearily. "It'll still be extremely risky, but we'll at least have the cover of darkness."

"It's only a couple of hours until nightfall. We can rest so we'll be ready if we have to run for it," Kyo agrees.

Unfortunately, they discover it'll be even harder to sneak through at night. They easily spot the guard strolling along the gully up to the border fence while other guards patrol the area on foot, making crossing nearly impossible.

It finally hits Maes that as heavily patrolled the borders are, his squad was probably set up. He wonders if the People's Army did it to try turning it into an international incident or use it for propaganda because there's no way they should've made it as far into Azambra as they did without interference.

"Uncle," Kyo quietly calls, breaking into Maes' thoughts. "You should take my sister and sneak across while I distract the guards."

"No!" Kisa hisses fiercely.

"Are you out of your mind? There's no way in hell we're leaving you behind, Kyo," Maes grinds out.

"And there's no way in hell we'll all make it!" Kyo snaps back. "We'll be picked off or, worse, captured. I want Kisa to go and start over," he adds more quietly, meeting Kisa's angry glare. "She deserves it after everything she's been through." Turning his gaze back to Maes, he challenges defiantly, "You can't sit there and honestly tell me that we're all going to make it, can you, uncle?"

Maes glowers at the teen while the silence stretches out before Kisa captures both their attentions.

"Kyo's right." As Maes gapes in shock, she meets Kyo's confused gaze adding, "We both will have to distract the guards."

"This is getting ridiculous," Maes begins before getting cut off by Kisa.

"I'm sorry, uncle, but either we both go or we both be the distraction. The chance of one of us making it is far better than two." Smiling softly as her gaze drops, she admits, "I'm a coward. I can't stomach the idea of leaving Kyo behind." Taking her brother's hand she adds, "We've been through everything together."

Maes crosses his arms and glares hard. "Bullshit! There is no way in hell you're going to convince me you'll survive when you're caught, so I'm not about to let you become martyrs!"

Kyo returns his sister's smile and squeezes her hand. "We never thought we'd survive. Not for the longest time." Turning back to Maes he adds, "But unlike you, we don't have any family waiting for us."

"You have a daughter you want return to," Kisa adds earnestly. "We know what it's like to lose a father and don't want her to experience that. You have a chance to be there for her to grow up. You should seize it, uncle."

Narrowing his eyes as his glare intensifies, Maes grits out, "That's playing dirty."

"We had five older brothers, we're well versed in playing dirty," Kyo quips. Seeing Maes is anything but amused, he sighs softly. "It may be remote, but we may survive. We'll get punished, but maybe we'll make it through somehow."

"And someone has to tell the world what's going on here," Kisa reasons. "If there are people of character and compassion in Amestris, maybe they can finally stop these horrors so no one else will suffer anymore. No one is likely to listen to two kids from a foreign land, but maybe they'll pay attention to an Amestrian soldier who witnessed it firsthand."

Maes glowers while furiously thinking of another alternative. They could try traveling up and down the border, but it's such a short stretch of barely sixteen kilometers. He knows this particular section is the closest to the nearest Amestrian outpost. The rest are remote, desolate areas and they'll likely die before they can reach civilization. It's also highly unlikely the rest of the fence is any less patrolled. Plus, the longer they stay out here, the better their chances of getting caught.

A traitorous part of his mind thinks about Gracia and Elicia waiting for him, not knowing he's no longer in Amestris, but trapped in a foreign country. However, he really hates leaving them to save his ass and not being able to do a damn thing for them.

Looking into the twins' determined faces, he reluctantly concedes defeat.

"All right," he sighs heavily, "You win."

Both smiled brilliantly, filling him further with self-loathing.

"Would you please do us a favor, uncle?" Kisa asks. When Maes nods, she digs into her knapsack and pulls out a few antiquated books, several photographs and a few other items. Handing them over, she explains, "Some of these are family heirlooms and photos I don't want to get lost or destroyed. Please keep them for us."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Maes grimly takes the items and packs them away.

"Keep them safe until we can come get them, uncle," Kyo adds. At Maes' incredulous look, he smirks, "we don't plan on giving up easily. We may be a distraction to give you a chance to escape, but we intend to take you up on your offer to move to Amestris. Besides, we hear the weather is nice."

"Smart ass," Maes snorts. "You two better do everything you can to survive because I'll be waiting."

Suddenly, he pulls both into a fierce hug. Surprised, it takes Kyo and Kisa a moment before they return the hug with equal ferocity.

Releasing them, he takes another good long look at them. "Good luck you two," he barely manages around the brick in his throat. "If you do make it to Amestris, tell any military officer you find to contact me, Maes Hughes. I'll come get you."

Kyo and Kisa nod before placing their hands in a prayer position, again high at their foreheads, and bow low.

"Have a safe journey, uncle," Kisa softly states as they bow.

"You should change into your uniform, uncle," Kyo suggests. "We'll get closer and wait a half hour before we start our distraction. If we wait any longer it'll be daylight." Emphasizing his words, he adds, "No matter what you see or hear, keep going. There's no way you're going to be able to help us, so please don't waste our efforts by getting caught."

Maes closes his eyes briefly with a heavy sigh before nodding wearily. Without further delay, Kisa and Kyo disappear from sight.

His hands feel leaden as he changes into his uniform. Fingering the coarse repair job Kisa did, he thinks she did a pretty damn good job with what she had available. Once ready, he shoulders his pack and moves into position, determined to make it back home and somehow find a way to help the twins, even if it's only indirectly.

It's not long before he hears shouting and the guard at the gully abandons his post to investigate. Pushing himself hard, he rushes forward into the gully and scrambles through the jagged crevice, keeping his head down as low as possible.

Praying to whatever god will listen to let him make it, he reaches the borderline and struggles to maneuver through the tangle of barbed wire. Fortunately, it's not hard to lift the jumbled mass to duck under it, but he scratches the hell out of his hands and face before crossing to the other side, awkwardly clambering out the other end of the gully to flat land.

Sparing a brief glance over his shoulder, he prays that Kisa and Kyo will be all right.

* * *

**A/N**: And so finishes the back story/setup for this fanfic.

-The 'football' I'm referring to here is the international version commonly known in the U.S. as 'soccer'.

-The proverb I deliberately butchered comes from a book called 'When Broken Glass Floats' a non-fiction account by a survivor of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia. I've taken a lot of inspiration from it for this story. It's a very good book I highly recommend.

-The socks I'm describing the twins having Maes wear are called 'tabi'. The Japanese wear them with thong sandals.

Nice to see there are folks enjoying this story and I thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

_Present time…_

Shifting to lean forward, Maes reaches over to pick up the photo of the twins laying on the coffee table and smiles down at it.

"I staggered further into Amestris until one of our patrols found me and was nearly shot on sight if it weren't for the uniform," he smirks back at Roy. "The sergeant in charge still didn't fully believe I was military until I produced the dog tags of my fallen comrades from my squad." His smile softens as he adds, "That's what Kisa was searching for and why she was reaching for my collar when she thought I was another corpse. She said she felt bad for the soldiers and thought that someday she could return the tags to their families. She gave them to me along with her family photos. Once the sergeant saw the tags they took me to the nearest medic and contacted Powers."

"I'm sure Powers was happy to hear you were alive," Roy snorts.

"Ecstatic," Maes quips, setting the photo down again on the table. "Powers was so overjoyed that he tried bringing me up on charges of desertion."

Roy gapes incredulously, asking, "Are you serious?"

Briefly closing his eyes, Maes nods. "Not surprisingly, Powers tried covering the entire mess up. The Azambrans claimed Amestris was trying to spy on them. When questioned by the brass, Powers claimed some bandits stole some uniforms from the laundry service to use as a disguise to commit thefts in Azambra and blame Amestris. He then made the orders of the infiltration disappear and tried shuffling personnel records so it looked like all members of the squad were stationed elsewhere. That way he could claim everyone was accounted for."

Grinning, Maes tucks his hands behind his head and leans back into the sofa.

"Turning up alive really threw a monkey wrench into Powers' plan. He was gung ho for stringing my ass up on the gallows until I helpfully pointed out I had forwarded a copy of my squad's orders to some friends in Central. They knew that if anything were to happen to me, they'd show those orders to the brass. Considering the orders included the names of everyone on the squad, there was going to be a lot of uncomfortable questions Powers would have to answer. Needless to say, Powers was sweating bullets." Smirking over at Roy, he adds, "I had my copy of those orders on me, so if Powers called my bluff and had me searched, he could've made those disappear and still covered his ass."

"Once I got word of the court martial I would've stepped in a put a stop to it," Roy murmurs thoughtfully.

"Maybe," Maes shrugs, "but things were pretty chaotic at the time. Who knew the night I crossed back into Amestris was the eve of the Promised Day. You might not have gotten word of the situation until it was too late. Powers was trying very hard to settle the matter quickly." Leaning his head on the backrest to smile at the ceiling he muses, "It's a good thing Powers isn't much of a gambler and folded. In exchange for dropping all charges, he got credit for the idea of sending a squad to investigate several disturbing rumors coming out of Azambra. Thanks to the brave men who sacrificed their lives, the world found out about what was happening there and every man who died got posthumously promoted a rank with all the appropriate benefits going to their survivors."

"So that's how the news broke," Roy smirks.

"It's why Powers will do anything I ask," Maes straightens up to smirk back. At Roy's questioning gaze his smirk morphs into a grin, "Powers was even more alarmed when he learned who I really was. Sending an undercover Brigadier General on a suicide mission after protesting said mission threw his world into a tailspin. Powers is lucky I'm not particularly vindictive or his ass would've been busted to private and assigned permanent KP duty."

Roy's gaze turns flinty. "He still might."

"It worked out and we've got a reliable _friend_ watching the southeast for us. Powers won't screw up like that again. Besides, it helps to have allies in the back pocket like that."

Roy eyes Maes incredulously, but his friend just waves it off. "Powers knows not to try sacrificing men for stupid shit like that again, not when I'm watching. He knows he screwed up and got busted for it. He's not going to repeat that mistake again. Besides, we're still low on good ranking officers and Powers is a good colonel when his head isn't up his ass."

"If you say so," Roy huffs disbelievingly.

"I do and there is another point to consider," he reasons, holding his index finger in the air for emphasis. "If it weren't for Powers' idiocy, I would've never found out about Azambra or met Kyo and Kisa."

Roy eyes the discarded photo of the twins. "Why didn't tell me about all this sooner?"

"There was just too much shit going on at the time," Maes sighs heavily. "If I recall correctly, things were rather chaotic following the Promised Day, rippling on down to the southeast. Hell, we didn't get a chance to talk until three months later when you finally called to say I could return home to Central. I was being selfish wanting to get back to Gracia and Elicia quickly and pick up my life again. There never really seemed to be the right time to mention it." His eyes grows distant as he adds, "It was also something only I could deal with, so I focused on doing what I could to get Fuhrer Grumman to mount a force to liberate Azambra." His brow arches as he fixes his keen gaze back on Roy. "It wasn't easy with the aftermath of the Promised Day."

"I remember that being the biggest complaint surging through the ranking officers because we didn't really have the manpower to spare. However, it was unwarranted because liberating Azambra didn't take that much effort."

"Even I was surprised at how easy it was," Maes nods. "Like most bullies, the People's Army caved in the face of someone stronger. It certainly was a feather in the military's cap in the public eye after the failed coup and murder of Bradley. Saving a lesser country from an oppressive rule certainly helped polish things up."

Dark eyes narrow in keen scrutiny. "What brings up all these memories now?"

Sighing softly, Maes rises from the sofa and walks back to his desk. Selecting a document, he steps back over to Roy and hands it to him before settling back into his seat across from him.

He watches Roy's brow furrows as he reads the letter before looking back up.

"So Kisa is applying for asylum in Amestris and asked you to be her sponsor?"

Maes smiles softly and nods. His expression grows somber when he states, "There's no mention of Kyo. She stayed behind with him and I'm afraid what her coming alone means."

Roy finishes the thought, "That he's dead."

Maes grimly replies, "That possibility makes me determined to bring her to Amestris quickly. I've spent the last two hours trying to think of what favors I can call in or who I can strong arm and manipulate in the Immigration Department to speed things up because It could take months to get her here."

Roy arches a brow. "What are you planning? It should be enough that you sponsor this girl so she can immigrate here. It sounds like you've got more in mind."

"I haven't stopped thinking of Kyo and Kisa since I left Azambra," he explains, his eyes boring into Roy's. "There's always a reminder. Hell, just looking at Elicia is enough or when Ed and Al are around." A smirk crosses his face when he adds, "Especially the first time I saw Al again and he had his body back. During one of our many conversations about those two, Kyo said he thought it'd be funny if he looked exactly like Al. He didn't know how right he was." He sighs again wearily. "Wondering what happened to those two certainly kept me up nights. I want Kisa to come to Central so I can keep an eye on her and help her. It's the least I can do after everything she and Kyo sacrificed for me."

"It's going to take a lot of work," Roy muses.

Maes smiles fondly. "But well worth it."

* * *

Roy isn't surprised when he steps back into the outer office of his section and is immediately sighted by the cold, hard gaze of an extremely unhappy Colonel Hawkeye from where she stood by Falman's desk. Not for the first time he muses she must have a sixth sense regarding his presence because she had been completely engrossed in the report she was reading.

Not that he can blame her since his conversation with Hughes took a couple of hours. Raising a hand, he stops her from unholstering her gun before using the same hand to wave her to follow.

He ignores the confusion in her eyes since she obediently follows him to his office. Stepping inside, he gestures for her to close the door as he settles in behind his desk.

"I need you to get a copy of the immigration procedures for Amestris to Falman," he orders, reaching into the middle drawer and pulling out a pen. "Have him figure out how to speed up the process for an immigrant. Also, have him look into current policy and restrictions and find any loopholes." Reaching to his right, he grabs a file from his overflowing inbox and opens it on the blotter. "I want you to find out who we know in Immigration and Naturalization that we can either call in favors to or pressure into speeding up the process for an Azambran refugee. I want it ready by the time I'm done with the generals meeting with the Fuhrer this afternoon."

Riza arches a brow, as he begins scanning the report.

"What's going on that involves the Immigration and Naturalization Division?" she finally asks.

"I'm just trying to help out an old friend," he replies absently. "While you carry out my orders, I'll get as much paperwork done before the meeting because we may be going for a ride afterward."

Riza is puzzled, as well as surprised at Roy doing his work willingly.

Deciding not to question it, she salutes, "Yes, sir."

Heading for the door, she pauses briefly to glance back at Roy, arching a brow before closing the door behind her as she leaves to carry out her orders.

* * *

Following another busy three weeks, Maes corners Roy after another generals meeting with the Fuhrer.

Gathering up his documents from the meeting, Maes casually mentions, "Hey, Roy, I hear you've been busy lately."

"No more than usual," Roy shrugs as he slips his paperwork into a briefcase.

"Isn't it a bit outside your duties to pester the folks over at I & N," Maes prods as they walk out of the empty boardroom. "I've been making the rounds over there and getting some interesting responses."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb," the taller man drawls, casting a brief, shrewd look at his friend out of the corner of his eye. "I've heard some irritated grumbling about some general badgering to push through the paperwork for one Kisa Namikaze to arrive in Central in another three months. Far less time than the usual ten to twelve months. Apparently, said general went down to the I & N offices nearly a month ago with a certain blonde colonel to personally speak to the head of the division. Does that ring a bell now?"

"Sounds like abuse of rank if you asks me," Roy muses, continuing to feign innocence.

Shaking his head, Maes' grin widens. "Not only are you naïve, but you're too soft hearted for your own good sometimes. Thanks for helping me out."

"I still don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't."

Ignoring the comment, Roy asks, "What arrangements have been made in preparation for Kisa's arrival?"

"Not much," Maes sighs wearily. "Kisa still has to undergo a complete medical evaluation and thorough background check. Immigration officials have to make sure she isn't a war criminal masquerading as Kisa. The medical exam will happen in Dublith as a special clinic has been set up there for the refugees. She should be arriving there in another two months and it should take a month to get all that done. If all goes well, she should be on her way after that."

"Why Dublith?" Roy asks in confusion. "Why didn't they set up a clinic in a city closer to the Azambran border?"

"Because there aren't any cities large enough to have enough doctors. Dublith is a little out of the way and further west, but has more doctors and specialists and labs than in the eastern or southeastern areas. Plus, it's cheaper to set up a clinic than to send the doctors closer to Azambra. There are more facilities to house the refugees and the clinic than anywhere else in the entire region." Stopping by a window in a deserted hallway, he adds, "It's a sort of last chance to catch anyone we don't want sneaking into Amestris who may have gotten past all the other hurdles."

Roy nods, "It wouldn't be hard for someone wishing to avoid prosecution for their actions in Azambra to hide among the refugees and start over in Amestris. We already have enough problems without any of the more notorious war criminals coming here to start trouble or new criminal enterprises."

"Exactly. So I'm not unhappy about the fact the refugees have to stay in Dublith for a month to get examined. Another thing we don't need is for another epidemic to break out like it did in '04. Dublith has a couple of doctors specializing in pathology that have been recruited to examine them along with other volunteers."

"Are you planning on taking a trip to Dublith to see Kisa?"

Maes shakes his head. "As much as I'd like to, I can't. We're still collecting and organizing evidence for the upcoming trials of the Homunculi supporters and conspirators. Two years after the fact and they're barely going to trial. We can't afford to screw up now. I did get in touch with Ed and Al's alchemy mentor and asked her to check on Kisa when she arrives."

Roy arches a brow in surprise. "Izumi Curtis?"

Maes nods. "I found out about her from Winry during one of her last visits. I never met the woman, but it seems the boys hold her in great respect. Since she's the only person I know of in the south, and the boys respect her that much, I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask her to check on Kisa while she's there. Might be a good way for her to start making friends."

"Maybe," Roy shrugs. "Izumi Curtis is considerably older than Kisa and you never mentioned the girl knowing any alchemy, so it may be hard for them to find anything in common."

"You know her?" Maes asks, looking at Roy in surprise.

"From the Promised Day," Roy states before quietly explaining her involvement. He finishes his explanation, adding, "Although, we fought together she didn't stick around very long afterward and returned to Dublith with her husband. Otherwise, I don't know that much about her."

"Well, no one has made any negative comments about her," Maes sighs again. "The Elric boys are still abroad in Xing and in the west, so there's no way I can ask them about her. She sounded responsible on the phone and readily agreed to meet with Kisa. It certainly eases my mind about the whole thing. If all goes well and Kisa hasn't contracted a communicable disease, she should be here in April."

"That's probably a good thing since she comes from a tropical, humid climate. It'll be rainy, but the conditions will probably be considerably less than what she's used to. It's far better than her arriving during the winter when she won't have any time to prepare for it."

"She's going to have plenty of adjustment to do as it is. There are significant differences in culture she's going to have to get used to." Shrugging Maes adds, "I'm not too concerned because she and Kyo were very open minded, although I'm sure she'll still likely be shocked by some things."

Roy shakes his head. "It's not like she's going to be alone during all this. Knowing you and Gracia, you all ready adopted her into your family."

Maes laughs as he turns to continue down the hallway, calling over his shoulder, "You know us too well."

* * *

Ninety sounds like a large number, but it's really a short amount of time.

At least, it feels that way to Maes.

He feels like he's stuck in a whirlwind since receiving Kisa's application of asylum from I & N. Granted, he's neck deep in preparing for several prominent trials looming ahead, as well as continuing the investigations of several other pending cases. If anything, receiving word she's alive and wanting to come to Amestris is like a candle on a dark, cold night.

Within two weeks of signing the documents necessary to start her immigration, he receives the first letter from her. Her words seem hesitant and awkward, like she's unsure of what to say to him. He also got the feeling that she might've thought he forgot her.

With her letter she includes pictures taken by the Immigration officials to show what she looks like now. He laughs when she writes that she's sure he'd remember what she looks like since he said she looks like someone he knows. In every photo she holds a black chalkboard with her name, age and the date scribbled on it.

Maes can't help but think the photos remind him so much of the mug shots taken of arrestees and prisoners. He notices she doesn't smile in any of them and can almost hear Kyo's worried voice commenting on how she smiled less and less and how much he missed it.

Shaking off those thoughts, he studies the images noting how gaunt and frail she still looks. He figures it's going to take a lot of effort to get her back to peak health. However, he knows Gracia already has that covered with her cooking.

Since that first letter, he promptly replies to every single one she sends. He frequently declares how excited he and his family are that she's coming to Amestris. He shares stories of how things have been since he returned and includes photos of Gracia and Elicia. He wants so much to ask about Kyo and what happened to them since he last saw them, but since she hasn't volunteered that information yet he doesn't feel right in asking her. It just isn't something to be discussed in a letter.

Regardless of the lack of information she's sharing, each letter is a reminder that's she's at least alive and doing well enough. So, he's pleasantly surprised one morning to find another letter from her tucked in the stack of mail on his desk. Grinning, he rises to his feet to step over to the door and poke his head out into the outer office.

"Hey, Sheska."

"Yes, sir?" the brunette asks, looking up from her work.

"I'm closing the door and don't want to be disturbed."

As usual, she gives him a confused look before saying, "Yes, sir."

Closing the door, he begins tearing the letter open as he walks over to one of the sofas in front of his desk and stretches out on his back.

_Dear Uncle,_

_How are you today? I hope you're in good health and having a good day. From what you've explained, your job sounds hectic and stressful. I know you must work hard if they trust you with such important responsibilities._

_How is your family? I hope your wife and daughter are also in good health. Thank you for the pictures of them. I'll take care of them until I can return them to you._

_There might be a delay in my replying to your next letter because it might get misdirected. The camp officials just announced they're moving everyone to different camps. Those who will stay in Azambra will be moved to a new camp further inland and those of us leaving are moving to a new transition camp just inside Aerugo and next to the Amestrian border._

_I wish it wasn't in Aerugo, but the land on the Azambran side of the Amestrian border is littered with even more land mines than it was when you escaped. Plus, the new camp is close to a main road that continues into Amestris all the way to the nearest military outpost. It'll make traveling much easier on the refugees emigrating into Amestris._

_I understand why they're not putting the camp in Amestris, as things are still too unstable and volatile. Life in a refugee camp is chaotic and unpredictable enough as it is, especially when compared to the oppressive control of the work camps._

_I know you'll find this funny, but I've heard another reason Aerugo insisted on building and operating the new camp within their borders isn't because they're feeling benevolent. Apparently, they're trying to look better and deflect attention from the fact they were selling weapons to the People's Army. Well, that's one rumor going around right now._

_Please don't comment on that, Uncle, because I might be in the new camp by the time your letter reaches me. The way the camp officials explained it, Aerugo military will be running the new camp._

_Anyway, this next camp is supposed to be our last one before we can officially enter Amestris. It scares me a little to think I'm about to leave Azambra forever, but at the same time I can't wait for it to happen. It's not home anymore and I don't want to be here anymore._

_I'm sorry for not writing more, but I have to finish this letter or I'll miss sending it out with the courier._

_Please give my regards to your family and please take care of yourself._

_Sincerely,_

_Kisa Namikaze_

Maes sighs into the stillness as he folds up the letter and broods over it for a long time. He mechanically moves through the rest of the day before sneaking out early to head home.

It's slow going maneuvering carefully through the frozen, snow accented streets. They would continue having snow through late February before Central begins thawing out in preparation for spring. Although, he's always eager to get home as soon as possible to his family, Maes really wishes he could drive there faster today.

After what feels like an eternity, he parks the car and eases out into the cold, bitter air. Walking up to the front door, he glances over to the windows of the sitting room and smiles and waves at his daughter giggling and waving from inside.

He barely closes the front door before his beloved child latches onto his leg like a barnacle, crying, "Daddy's home!"

Laughing, he reaches down and scoops her up into his arms. "Yes he is!"

Elicia shivers a little in his arms. "You're cold!"

Chuckling, he kisses her cheek before setting her down. "Yes I am. It's a little frigid outside. So I guess I'll have to warm up with some of Mommy's cooking, won't I?"

Elicia nods as Gracia walks down the hallway to join them.

"You're home early," she comments while helping him out of his coat.

Once his arms are free from the coat he doesn't give her a chance to hang it up, hindering her with an embrace and passionate kiss while completely ignoring their giggling daughter for a moment.

Pulling back, he leans his forehead to touch hers. "I snuck out as soon as I could because I got another letter from Kisa today."

Both Gracia and Elicia's eyes light up.

"Why don't you go change while I make some tea to warm you up? Then you can tell us about your day and Kisa," Gracia suggests.

Reluctantly releasing his wife, Maes nods and heads upstairs to change out of his suit.

Minutes later he returns to the kitchen and settles in at the table while Elicia climbs into his lap.

"Daddy is much warmer now!" the little girl giggles while twisting around to hug him.

"Of course," Maes laughs, returning the hug and kissing the top of her head.

Gracia sets a steaming cup of tea in front of him before sitting down next to him with her own cup.

"How was your day, Maes?"

"Typically busy, but not too bad," he replies, sipping his tea. "It was a nice surprise to find another letter from Kisa in my mail."

"I'm surprised you got one from her so soon. I thought the mail would get delayed again because of the bad weather," Gracia muses.

"I'm not going to question it, as it is it's very likely my reply will be delayed because she's moving to another camp."

Without further preamble, Maes pulls the letter from his pocket and hands it over to Gracia to read. She reads most of it, tacitly omitting the part where Kisa mentions the Aerugo military will be running the next camp and asks him not to comment on it. It just isn't something either of them can explain to their daughter so she'll understand.

When she finishes, Gracia smiles, saying, "I'm glad she's that much closer to getting here."

"Daddy?" When Maes looks down, Elicia asks, "When is Kisa gonna get here?"

"She'll be here in April."

"Can't we just take a train and pick her up from Ergo so she can get here sooner?"

Maes grins. "It's Aerugo. Aer-u-go."

"Eear-roo-go?"

"Close enough," Maes chuckles, hugging her reassuringly. "We'll work on your pronunciation later. Anyway, when someone is moving from another country to here, there's a lot of paperwork and stuff that has to be done. We can't go and get her until those things are done and it's going to take time."

Elicia snuggles against Maes' body while hugging him tighter.

"I want to meet the girl who saved my daddy," she quietly mumbles into his shirt.

Maes tightens his hold around Elicia and kisses the top of her head as Gracia says, "We all do, honey."

* * *

Later that night Maes and Gracia turn in early because of the cold. Pulling her close, he sighs happily.

"That's more like it," he mutters. "The perfect end to a perfect day."

"It'd be even more perfect if Kisa were already here in Central," Gracia muses, gently rubbing his chest.

"No, it'd be even more perfect if I hadn't left her and Kyo behind in the first place," he sighs heavily, tightening his hold around Gracia. "I feel like a terrible person allowing two children to save my ass like that."

"Maes, you can't torture yourself over that," she gently admonishes, looking up into his eyes by the dim light of the full moon filtering through the curtains. "Your options were dwindling fast and those two children understood the situation better than you or they would've come with you. They had every intention of crossing with you until it became clear the three of you wouldn't make it. You can't blame yourself like you shamelessly threw them to the wolves without a second thought."

"It sure feels that way," he replies quietly.

"But it's not," she insists. "And you kept your word and did everything you could to hasten the liberation of Azambra. Any other man wouldn't have bothered."

"You're right, honey, but it will always feel like I should've done more."

"I remember you saying once that our efforts will always feel like they fall short when they really don't."

"That's playing dirty using my own words against me like that," he replies petulantly. Gracia still hears the smirk in his voice despite the annoyed tone.

"Then don't say them," she quips, causing him to laugh. "Besides, you're ignoring the fact you've given hope back to Kisa."

The silence stretches out before Maes' confused voice asks, "Why do you say that? I thought Kisa's letter was rather abrupt."

It's Gracia's turn to sigh wearily. "It wasn't obvious, but it's still not hard to see the hopefulness in her letter. I can tell that as scared as she is to leave everything behind, she's eager to move on with her life as soon as possible."

"Do I need to chalk that up to a woman's intuition thing? Because I didn't see that at all."

"I hope our next child is a boy," she sighs again, "because I truly worry about you if we end up with all girls."

Maes laughs as he presses a kiss to the top of her head. "Just clue me in when I'm being dense and I'll be fine."

"Maes," Gracia begins hesitantly. "There's something I've been thinking about since you returned to us after the Promised Day."

"What is it?" he asks, frowning in the darkness.

"After you shared the entire story of how you ended up in Azambra and what happened, I've always felt we owed Kyo and Kisa an extraordinary debt. I've lost count of the nights we stayed up worrying over them." Tightening her arms around his torso, she adds, "I was overjoyed when you told us about Kisa applying for asylum here and it reminded me of a thought I've often had for the past two years. Should Kyo and Kisa make it to Amestris they should move in with us."

"Are you saying we should have Kisa move in with us?" Maes interrupts, surprise coloring his voice.

"I think it's the least we can do. She has no family left to take care of her and I feel she's already earned a very special place with us."

"Is that why you suggested I include our family photos with my letters to her? Because I'll admit at first I thought that might be rubbing salt in her wounds. Were the photos supposed to get her more comfortable with you and Elicia?"

Maes feels her nod against his chest. "With you as well. She only knew you for about two months. She obviously wasn't comfortable writing to you after so long because she sounded far more hesitant in her first two letters to you. I thought the photos would make us feel less like strangers to her."

"I don't know how I got you to agree to become my wife, but I'm lucky to be married to such a brilliant woman," he murmurs softly, raising a hand to angle her chin so he can kiss her soundly.

After a few, pleasurable moments, Maes pulls back and leans his forehead against hers. "Since we're on the subject of expanding our family, would now be a bad time to consider getting to work on a little brother or sister for Elicia?"

He grins at the stunned look in Gracia's eyes. "Not that I'm opposed to it," she finally ventures, "but I didn't think it was a good time to bring it up yet."

Smiling fondly, he presses his lips gently against hers before saying, "There's never a bad time to discuss it. Granted, things were too crazy for us when I returned and we focused on enjoying our second chance more than anything. But I think we should go back to our original plan of having a big family. Besides," he purrs huskily, "I'm a respectable family man and can't exactly cut loose with nights of drunken debauchery, but I'd much rather cut loose with my own wife."

"You're incorrigible," she replies fondly. "I'd love to have another baby with you."

"Then let's get to work, shall we?" Maes whispers before capturing her lips again.

* * *

Maes thinks it's weird how the time seems to be moving simultaneously slow and fast. He tries avoiding counting how many days until Kisa arrives, but his curiosity often gets the better of him as he frequently calculates how long until she's in Central.

Leaning back in his chair, he swivels it around to glance out into the frosty March afternoon. The patches of snow often framing the windowpanes of his home office gives way to icy sheets of water frozen overnight before the weak sunlight could dry it.

The house is silent as Elicia is taking a nap and Gracia is busy in the kitchen. Naturally, the ringing of the phone jars him from his reverie as if shocked by electricity.

More annoyed with himself than by the interruption, he picks up the receiver.

"Hughes here."

"_Is that how all military answer the phone?"_ an unfamiliar female voice demands. _"It's very unprofessional if it is."_

Pulling the receiver away to briefly arch an incredulous brow at it, he places back against his ear to reply, "It discourages calls from people we don't want to hear from."

"_Well, you'll want to take this call,"_ the voice huffs. _"This is Izumi Curtis and you're the one who called me out of the blue to check on your ward, remember?"_

Understanding and relief lights up green eyes as his expression relaxes in relief. "Mrs. Curtis! My apologies. The ringing of the phone startled me because I wasn't expecting any calls. How are you doing? Kisa should be in Dublith by now. Have you been able to see how she's doing?"

"_I'm fine,"_ Izumi tersely replies, ignoring his comments on being startled. _"As for Kisa, why don't you talk to her yourself? She's sitting right here and would like to speak to you."_

"Yes, I would," he eagerly replies. "Please put her on."

Maes smiles widens when he finally hears a voice he wasn't sure he'd ever hear again.

"_Hello? Uncle?"_ Kisa's voice greets hesitantly over the line.

"Kisa," he begins warmly. Pausing momentarily, he swallows the lump that suddenly lodged in his throat before the words tumble from his mouth. "I don't even know where to begin. How are you? How was your trip? When did you get in? Have they finished all your medical exams? Have they finished processing your paperwork yet? Do you know when you'll be able to come to Central?"

He wonders if they got disconnected when all he hears is silence.

"_Uh…"_ she begins hesitantly. _"Which question do you want me to answer first?"_

"All of them," he chuckles. "All right, let me try this again. How are you?"

He can hear the smile in her voice as she answers, _"I'm fine, Uncle. It was a long trip, but a good one. It was a little scary riding the train for the first time, but I enjoyed it. Just cramped in the cars with all the other refugees and noisy. I liked seeing the landscape change through the window, especially at night when it was a full moon. The train arrived two weeks ago."_

"Two weeks ago? I thought your train was supposed to come in a week ago?" he asks in confusion.

"_They hastened the departure time because there was a rumor of an impending retaliation attack by the People's Army. Despite the fact the last transition camp is located well-within Aerugo soil and the People's Army would never boldly invade just to attack a refugee camp, the Aerugo military insisted those who were coming to Amestris had to leave immediately or get stuck there for months until they decided it was safe enough."_

Maes can almost hear her rolling her eyes as she sighs softly in frustration.

"_I think they just wanted to pawn their burdens onto Amestris as soon as possible."_

"To keep up appearances of doing something benevolent without taxing their resources too much," he concedes her point.

"_Exactly,"_ Kisa drawls. _"It wasn't so bad for me, but it was unnerving for the families. Many were scrambling to get their paperwork done right because the immigration officials said if they weren't, people could get shipped back to the camp. That could've easily meant families getting split up and no one wanted to do that again."_

"Makes perfect sense," Maes replies softly, knowing she's referring to how families were broken up by the People's Army and separated into the work camps. "Speaking of paperwork, how is your processing going? Have they cleared you medically and given you an idea as to when you'll get here?"

He can hear her smiling again as she replies, _"My processing is going well, Uncle. I've been cleared medically, but I have to wait until there have been enough refugees cleared before they'll send us on our way."_

"The military did that for security reasons," he explains. "Having everyone isolated from the rest of the passengers before the final processing in Central makes it easier for security to spot any war criminals trying to avoid prosecution who have made it past everything so far."

"_That makes sense,"_ Kisa agrees. In a softer voice she adds, _"I just want to get to my final destination."_

"You're almost here," Maes replies fondly. "You have no idea how happy that makes me. And Gracia and Elicia are so excited to finally get to meet you!"

"_Me too,"_ she replies almost shyly. _"Excuse me one moment, Uncle."_ Maes patiently waits as she briefly speaks with Izumi before coming back on the line. _"I'm sorry, Uncle, but I have to go and help with dinner._

"That's okay, Kisa. We'll talk again later. Is Mrs. Curtis close by? I'd like to speak to her again, please."

"_Yes, she is. I'll talk to you soon. Take care of yourself, Uncle."_

"You too, Kisa."

Within moments Maes hears Izumi's voice back on the line. _"Yes?"_

"I want to thank you again for checking on Kisa and to thank you for calling me and allowing me to speak with her, Mrs. Curtis."

"_You can drop the formality and call me Izumi,"_ Izumi admonishes in a softer tone.

Maes chuckles. "Only if you'll call me Maes."

"_Deal. Oh, Kisa forgot to mention this, but she's going to be staying with us for the rest of the month into April."_

"She is?" he asks in surprise. "Normally they'd keep her quarantined with the rest of the refugees."

"_I asked and Colonel Jakkals, who's in charge, gave me permission since she was cleared medically. She looks like she could use more than a few good meals and I doubt she'll get that at compound."_

"That she does," Maes replies fondly. "Thank you for taking care of her. If there's anything I can do or if you need me to come down to Dublith, please let me know."

"_She'll be fine,"_ Izumi verbally waves it off. _"But I'll call you if I need to."_

"All right. Since she's staying with you, I'll call about this time next week," he promises.

"_Okay. I've got to go start dinner, so until next week."_

"Goodbye."

Maes gently replaces the handset on the cradle and smiles fondly at the phone. Rising to his feet, he heads straight for the kitchen.

Having just set out two teacups onto the table, Gracia blinks at him in surprise. "I was just about to come call you for some tea."

"I guess I just saved you the trouble then," he grins, stepping over to embrace her while kissing her deeply.

She's surprised, but melts into his arms anyway before he breaks the kiss moments later to place his forehead against hers.

"Good news. I just got a surprise call from Izumi Curtis in Dublith. She's the one I asked to go check on Kisa when she arrives. I got to speak with Kisa."

"Really?" Gracia gapes at him in surprise.

"Really," he assures her fondly. "Izumi got permission from the colonel in charge of the refugee compound for Kisa to stay with her until they clear enough refugees for the trip to Central." Sighing in relief he admits, "When I heard Kisa's voice, I felt an anxiousness I wasn't aware of melt away."

Pulling back, Gracia reaches up to cup his face with one hand. "Maes, you've been worrying over her and Kyo this entire time. You needed something more than letters and photos to convince you she's finally going to be okay."

"I guess I just fooled myself that becoming her sponsor was enough when it wasn't," he smiles softly.

Returning his smile, she strokes his face, suggesting, "Sit down and tell me about your conversation."

Sneaking one more kiss, Maes settles in at the kitchen table and tells her about the phone call.

When he finishes, Gracia smiles, "That's very generous of Izumi to take care of Kisa like that."

"I'm surprised Colonel Jakkals allowed it, but I'm not going to question it. It'll be nice for Kisa to step away from the chaos of refugee life for a bit."

"I imagine staying with Izumi will be a lot calmer for her," Gracia muses. "And probably something she'll need before she arrives here and begins trying to adjust to her new life."

"It's going to be a lot," Maes agrees. "I was thinking one way to help her begin adjusting is to have a dinner that night to welcome her. Nothing too fancy, just my staff plus Roy and his staff."

Gracia considers the idea before slowly shaking her head. "That might be too soon for Kisa. She'll be coming off a very long train ride from Dublith and the sheer size of Central will likely be overwhelming. She may need a few days to feel comfortable in her new surroundings first. Besides," she pauses to angle her head to gaze pointedly at her husband, "how do you think she'll react to Lt. Col. Armstrong?"

Maes cringes at the image in his head. "You're right. Some of my colleagues may be far too colorful for her to experience that soon."

"That's a nice way of putting it," she quips.

"I do try," he winks back. "Okay, how about a special dinner out with just the four of us?"

"That'd be nice, but I can make dinner instead so she'll have more time to get comfortable with us at home since she'll be living with us."

"I was trying to save you the trouble of cooking, sweetheart," Maes softly points out, reaching for her hand across the table.

Taking his hand, she squeezes it reassuringly. "I don't mind. I just think that she'll relax more over a dinner at home."

"You're probably right," he agrees, caressing the back of her hand with a thumb. "I remember her mentioning once that one of her favorite foods was an Aerugo pasta dish with mussels, scallops and spicy sausage." Maes smirks, adding, "Kyo teased her mercilessly claiming that's why she has to be adopted, she didn't like Azambran food, which prompted Kisa to slug him hard in the upper arm."

Gracia laughs, replying, "I think I can manage that. I don't make fish dishes often, so I may stay home that day to focus on getting it right for her."

"Thanks, sweetheart," he squeezes her hand again. "It's going to be hard staying patient until she gets here."

"Just do your best and it'll be over before you know it," she reassures him, squeezing his hand one more time.

* * *

"Oh, you've got to be shitting me!"

Blowing out a frustrated breath, Maes rereads the innocent looking memo from hell. He just can't believe it. A mandatory, daylong budget meeting is scheduled next week for April 15th; the day Kisa's train arrives in Central.

"Damn it, there's no getting out of this," he grumbles into his empty office.

He has every reason to be ticked. He cleared his schedule that day and planned on leaving work early to meet Kisa at the station. He wanted to spend the day with her getting reacquainted.

Scowling down at the memo he rereads the line stating the meeting should let out early in the afternoon. Not much of a consolation, but he supposes it's better than nothing.

Leaning back in his chair to prop his feet up on the desk, he tucks his hands behind his head and considers his options.

He doesn't want to burden Gracia with meeting Kisa at the train station. She has enough to do preparing for dinner that night. His only option is to abuse his rank. It's one of the many perks he loves and shamelessly enjoys.

Dropping his feet back onto the floor, he stands up and leaves his office.

"I'll be right back, Sheska," he tells his baffled secretary in passing.

Strolling a short distance down the hallway, he steps inside the group offices of the rest of his Investigations Division. Returning the salutes of various office staff, he crosses to a far corner of the room to the abutting desks of Captain Maria Ross and 2nd Lt. Denny Brosh.

Maria spots him first and stands at attention to salute Maes. As usual, Denny promptly follows her lead a beat or two behind.

"At ease you two," Maes returns their salutes. "I came to ask you both to do something for me."

"What is it, sir?" Maria asks, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Next week on the 15th at about eight in the morning the 2150 from Dublith will be arriving at the Central Grand Station. Four cars are specially designated for Azambran immigrants. I can't go meet it as planned, so I need you two to pick up Kisa Namikaze for me once she's processed and given the green light by the security personnel in charge."

"You don't even have to ask, boss," Denny smiles. "Where are we supposed to take her afterward? Are we supposed to bring her back to your office?"

"I'm going to be stuck in a budget meeting most of the day," Maes grumbles. "I don't want her to be stuck waiting for me, so I was wondering if you two could show her around Central Command and keep her occupied until I can escape. There's a lunch break scheduled, so I can meet you three in the mess hall. Afterward I'll need you continue keeping Kisa company until after the meeting."

"I'm sorry sir," Maria begins hesitantly. "Morning and lunch isn't a problem, but I'm scheduled to oversee a hand-to-hand training session that afternoon."

"Same for me too, boss," Denny replies sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I've got my weapons recertification scheduled that afternoon. I'm free in the morning too and would be happy to show Kisa around, though."

Sighing heavily, Maes runs a hand through his hair. "Well, it can't be helped. She'll only have to wait a couple of hours for me in my office and I have two sofas she can stretch out and nap on if she's feeling tired."

"You mentioned the train is coming in from Dublith, so she probably will be tired, sir," Maria points out.

"Okay," he nods. "That's going to be the best we can manage. Thank you both for taking care of her for me in the morning. That takes a load off my mind."

"You're welcome, sir," Maria smiles warmly.

"Anytime, boss," Denny echoes.

* * *

_**A/N**__: Well…I had planned on updating my Naruto stories first, but I it felt right getting a little farther on this one. I prefer to go where my plot bunnies take me. Better than risking writer's block and taking that much longer to update anything._

_Hope you're enjoying this as much as I'm enjoying writing this. This story is different than the majority of OC focused stories in this category. You will __*****__**NOT**__*****__ find the usual overused plot devices in here unless I'm deliberately poking fun at them. Stick with it and you'll see what I mean. ;P_

_Thank you for taking the time to read it. Feel free to drop a review if you feel so inclined._


	4. Chapter 4

"I wonder why General Hughes is having us pick up a refugee from Azambra?" Denny asks, leaning to peek over Maria's shoulder. He sat next to her in the back seat of the touring car acquisitioned for them by Maes. "I can't imagine a refugee from a backwater country like that being important enough to warrant a car and driver for us."

"It's not our place to ask," she murmurs, reviewing the thin dossier Maes provided them for the umpteenth time. "He's a brigadier general, so he can pretty much order us to do whatever he wants."

Denny rolls his eyes. "And boy does he abuse that every chance he gets."

"Perks of the position, you know that, lieutenant," she replies, glancing up from the file. "And I suggest you keep your mouth shut about it or you'll get stuck doing guided school tours again."

"Don't remind me," he shudders in revulsion. "I really hate it if the group includes hormonal girls, especially if we cross paths with Gen. Mustang."

"No kidding," Maria sighs, rolling her eyes. "I don't get it either, though. I don't think Gen. Hughes had any family in Azambra, so I have no idea why he'd go through all this trouble for a refugee." She snaps the folder shut in frustration and tucks it back into her briefcase. "The dossier tells us nothing more than a physical description of her."

"She's got to be a distant relative," Denny muses. "It's the only explanation that makes sense."

"We'll find out sooner or later," Maria replies as the car arrives at Central Grand Station.

The two exit the car once the driver parks it and head past the ticket booths to the tracks furthest from the main entrance. Maria leads the way to last platform, weaving in and out of milling crowds of arriving and departing passengers and well-wishers.

As they walk along the outer wall on the far side of the building toward the far corner, both officers glance out one of the large, sliding cargo doors dotting the station that is left open. They see several military trucks parked outside, waiting to transport the refugees to the tenements.

Both salute the guards stationed at the imaginary entrance of the staging area and head straight for a line of tables along the outer wall to their rights. Soldiers sitting at the tables or flitting from one to another are busy preparing for inbound train scheduled to arrive in another hour and a half.

They ask a soldier to point out who the officer in charge is and are directed to find him at the table in the center of the row.

As they approach, both blink in surprise to see a familiar face bent over a document in quiet explanation with a seated soldier.

"Isn't that Colonel Miles from Briggs?" Denny whispers behind his hand to Maria.

"Shush!" she hisses as Miles looks up and straightens up to regard them.

"Morning, sir," Maria greets with a salute.

Denny follows suit as Miles returns their salute. Unable to restrain himself, Denny blurts out, "Aren't you supposed to still be in Ishval, sir?"

Despite the snow glasses, both can clearly see a brow arching in response as he quietly scrutinizes them.

Maria gently, but firmly, grasps her partner by the shoulder and yanks him back while clearing her throat. "My apologies, sir," she begins, glaring at her partner. Returning her gaze to Miles, she clarifies, "According to reports the reestablishment of Ishval is been going well under your advisement and we heard it's a long-term assignment because of all work still to be done. We're surprised you're all the way here in Central overseeing the processing of incoming Azambran refugees."

Letting the silence stretch out, Miles contemplates screwing with the two, especially with the 2nd Lieutenant looking so nervous. However, he doubts there's enough time with the train due to arrive soon. Plus, it wouldn't look good to embarrass them in front of their Central comrades.

"The Fuhrer considers me an expert in processing refugees thanks to my experiences in Ishval," he finally breaks the silence. "Most Ishvalans in hiding weren't legally documented and it was a mess to straighten that out. In light of the current influx of refugees from Azambra, the Fuhrer asked me to train Central soldiers from the police division in properly processing the immigrants to aid the Immigration and Naturalization department."

"Shouldn't I & N be handling their training then?" Denny asks in confusion. "It's their paperwork."

Miles surprises them with a smirk. "True, but I&N doesn't have an eye for spotting possible war criminals hiding among the refugees."

Realization lights up Maria's face. "Because it wouldn't be hard for one to hide in the crowd."

"But there weren't war criminals among the Ishvalans?" Denny asks.

A silver brow arches again in curiosity. "No, not war criminals. However, there were some wanted for crimes not only committed against Amestris prior to the purge, but for crimes against their fellow Ishvalans. They weren't simply crimes committed during the rebellion and some acts of terrorism injured innocent civilians."

"It's a great idea," Maria nods in understanding before fishing a document from her briefcase and handing it to Miles. "Brigadier General Hughes asked us to pick up an Azambran refugee by the name of Kisa Namikaze once she files her arrival papers."

Miles examines the orders and nods. He hands the document to a sergeant standing nearby. "Pass this around so it can be noted by everyone. Once Kisa Namikaze's documents are processed and stamped, she can go with Captain Ross and Lieutenant Brosh."

"Yes, sir!" the woman smartly replies with a salute before taking the document to all the personnel manning the tables.

Miles turns back to Maria and Denny. "It's going to take awhile. We have 225 refugees to process, but while you both are waiting I'd like you to be extra pairs of eyes. Watch for any suspicious behavior or problems among the crowd."

"Yes, sir!" the two simultaneously salute before stepping off to the side.

The train finally arrives on time forty-five minutes later. The refugees had been relegated to separate cars and aren't allowed to disembark until all other passengers and cargo has been unloaded. It takes nearly an hour before the soldiers begin ushering the wary, disoriented refugees off the cars into the designated area. The chaos of processing begins as they are directed to form lines and the elderly and families with small children are called to the front to be processed first.

Standing in the background behind a table, Miles watches an elderly woman slowly emerge from the forming lines toward him, her walking stick tapping out a steady rhythm with each step. What appears to be a teenage girl escorts her, steadying the woman by the elbow. With the girl's head bent down, her headscarf obscures her face from Miles' view.

When they're nearly at the table, a teenage boy with his long, brown hair tied back in a ponytail rushes up through the crowd behind them.

Miles tenses and watches the boy closely until he catches up to the two women and opens his mouth in admonishment.

"Grandmother! Why didn't you wait for me?"

The hunched woman pauses to pin the teen with a glare before nailing him hard in the shins with her walking stick.

"Owwwwww!" he cries, bending forward to press his hands to the now throbbing spots.

"I tried waking you when the train stopped, Shun!" she snarls. "But you were too busy doing your best impersonation of a seat cushion that you didn't even hear everyone grabbing their things and getting off!"

As everyone in the vicinity laughs at the pair, Miles' gaze drifts over to the girl standing passively in the background. Blinking repeatedly behind his glasses, he can't help, but stare like a rookie recruit since she looks identical to Edward Elric.

The girl tries not to acknowledge his staring, but fails as she glances at him briefly while shifting uncomfortably under his gaze.

The soldier sitting in front of Miles behind the table interrupts the old woman's ranting, asking, "May I have your names?"

"My name is Aina Hayashi, and this champion seat warmer," she pauses to tap her grandson sharply on the shoulder with her stick, "is my grandson, Shun Hayashi."

Shun ignores the surrounding chuckles to glare at his grandmother while the soldier spends a few moments flicking through his sheets before marking off two lines with a nod. Glancing up at the girl, he asks, "Are you her granddaughter?"

"As much as I wish she were, she isn't, but helps me when my _beloved_ grandson is too busy sleeping," she declares imperiously, prompting everyone in the vicinity to laugh again.

"What is your name, miss?" the soldier asks the girl.

"Kisa Namikaze," she answers quietly.

Miles notes her voice is distinctly different from Ed's. Her voice is deeper than most girls her age with a distinctive, almost sultry huskiness to it.

The soldier flips through his list again and sees the notation regarding her. "Miss, would you please step off to the side to those two soldiers over there," he requests, gesturing at Maria and Denny standing off to his left.

There is a sudden spike of tension as all the refugees in the immediate area quieted, causing a ripple effect through the crowd until everyone is either watching apprehensively or straining to see what's going on. Miles saw the girl's posture stiffen as she eyes Denny and Maria warily.

"Why are you arresting a young girl who's barely been in the country for five minutes?" Aina demands.

Miles notes the refugees now fearfully eyeing the elderly woman and the soldiers.

The soldier at the table blinks in shock before sputtering, "N-no one is getting arrested, ma'am!"

"Grandmother, please!" Shun hisses, trying to silence her.

"I'm not staying quiet anymore," she declares defiantly. "Not after surviving everything so far just to come all the way to Amestris only to watch people disappear again. I refuse to bear witness anymore!"

"Why do you think that?" Miles asks, stepping forward to intercede. Gesturing at Maria and Denny he adds, "These two officers have orders from Kisa Namikaze's sponsor to pick her up from the station since he couldn't do it himself."

He watches the realization dawning on Kisa's face and muses she must've been expecting General Hughes, not his subordinates.

Aina shrewdly eyes him, stating, "Aerugo soldiers were in charge of the refugee camps and were notorious for taking people into custody, especially young girls."

A man among the refugees loudly states, "Many girls ended up pregnant!"

Another further back in the crowd calls out, "They'd drag you off and beat you near to death if you so much as looked at them wrong."

A woman bitterly adds, "My elderly father died from his beating and all because he didn't know to stop and honor their national anthem as it played over the loudspeakers."

As the murmurs and mutterings ripple through the crowd, Miles raises his hands placatingly, "That won't happen here."

The old woman eyes him again before asking, "Are you Ishvalan?"

Miles straightens slightly in shock before removing his trademark glasses to reveal his red eyes.

To his surprise the assembly immediately relaxes as Aina says, "Good. I can trust your assurances that Amestrian soldiers aren't like the Aerugo lowlifes if they now have Ishvalans in their ranks again."

Still surprised at the change in the crowd's demeanor, he asks, "Why would my being of Ishvalan descent make a difference to you?"

This time, another man from the crowd answers, "Because you can always trust an Ishvalan's word."

Another woman declares, "You can always count on them to be hard workers and help when you need them."

"Just don't piss them off, they're evil incarnate if you cross them," another man quips, prompting the crowd to laugh.

Hanging off her walking stick, Aina nods. "Ishvalans are good people and I wish my grandson would marry a nice Ishvalan girl because she'll make sure he isn't such a lazy, good for nothing."

"Grandmother!" Shun protests as the crowd sniggers.

"It sounds like Ishvalans lived among you," Miles prods.

"After the infamous purge in Amestris many sought refuge in Azambra," Kisa finally speaks up.

Turning his attention to her, Miles asks, "So we'll be seeing Ishvalans among the incoming refugees?"

Kisa sadly shakes her head. "The ones who didn't heed the rumors of the impending coup were the first to be killed by the insurgents."

Miles sees many refugees bowing their head slightly in shame.

"I'm ashamed the insurgents were Azambrans," Aina declares. "It was bad enough what they did to our people, but it's worse what they subjected the Ishvalans and other ethnic groups to."

Her statement prompts another round of murmured assent through the crowd.

"Enough about what we can't change," Aina dismisses with a wave of an arthritic hand. "It's good to see an Ishvalan in charge. Eases my mind that Amestrian soldiers won't be bastards like Aerugo's. Now if we can get on with it because I can't feel my butt."

Shun slaps a hand to his face with a groan. Miles catches the look of amusement in Kisa's eyes while the soldier continues processing them.

"I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable," Miles apologizes to Kisa. "I know my staring bothered you, but you look a lot like someone I know."

Cocking her head slightly, she looks confused until an old memory clicks in her head. "Uncle said I looked identical to an Amestrian boy named Edward Elric. So you know him?"

Before Miles can answer, Aina interjects, "There's a boy here in Amestris who looks just like you?" At Kisa's nod she chuckles, "Poor boy, must be hard fending off all the men chasing him."

Everyone at the table turns to gape at her.

"Um," Kisa begins hesitantly. "It's probably not like that, Aunt Aina."

"How can it not be?" the old lady scoffs. "If he looks just like you, he must be a very pretty boy." Her eyes drift down to Kisa's legs peeking through the slit in her skirt. "I doubt he's got your legs, though."

Shun groans, "Quit embarrassing Kisa, grandmother. We're holding up the line and the longer it takes them to process everyone, the longer it'll be before we can settle in the tenements."

Miles inwardly grins, watching Kisa try to maintain her composure behind her hand as Maria struggles to hold her own while elbowing a sniggering Denny. He certainly will have to rib the older Elric once he sees him again and will definitely be telling Brig. Gen. Armstrong when he calls later during lunch to update her.

The old woman lightly smacks her grandson with her walking stick before turning again to Kisa. "You take care of yourself, Kisa, and my offer stay with us still stands in case your sponsor did not make other arrangements."

"Thank you, Aunt Aina," Kisa acknowledges before raising her clasped hands to her chin and bowing to Aina and her grandson.

Aina and Shun return the gesture, also raising their hands to their chins before straightening up and slowly making their way to the nearest cargo doors leading outside to the transports. As they leave, Kisa focuses on the soldier processing her paperwork. Within minutes her papers are stamped and handed back to her.

"I'm Colonel Miles," he introduces himself as he steps forward. He pauses to watch her nod politely before clasping her hands again in the prayer position at her chest and bow.

When she straightens up, he extends his hand and arm in a gesture toward Denny and Maria. "If you would please step this way."

Kisa comes around the table to stand in front of the partners.

"This is Captain Maria Ross and 2nd Lieutenant Denny Brosh," he introduces them.

"I'm Kisa Namikaze," she states, repeating the same bow she gave Miles.

"Nice to meet you," Maria greets back as Denny nods.

"I apologize again for making you uncomfortable," Miles states. "It was hard not to stare since your resemblance to Ed is remarkable."

"Please don't apologize. It's understandable you'd be shocked," Kisa reasons. "Uncle told me how we were identical, but I forgot all about it."

"If I hadn't seen it, I would've thought Ed took up cross-dressing," Denny pipes up, earning a sharp elbow from Maria.

Miles glares at the 2nd Lt. in reprimand. Softening his expression again, he asks Kisa, "Why was everyone so certain you were being arrested? I noticed even you tensed up."

Blushing slightly, Kisa sighs and closes her eyes briefly, explaining, "Since the People's Army took over Azambra it was an everyday occurrence for people to disappear. Often it took the guise of them being sent to reeducation or summoned to speak with the leaders, but it all ended the same, with those people never coming back. Didn't change much at the refugee camps. Aerugo soldiers are not known for their compassion and took what they wanted. Looking at them wrong or questioning their orders earned a beating if you were male."

Stunned Maria asks, "Is it true many girls ended up pregnant?"

"It wasn't true in every case," Kisa nods. "Some girls used their perversion to their advantage, trading sexual favors for extra food and gifts. However, the soldiers didn't always wait for the girls to come to them. If a girl were unfortunate to catch a soldier's eye, they'd stalk her until he could grab her and drag her off."

Miles eyes Kisa. "It sounds like you're speaking from personal experience."

"There were a couple of close calls," she reluctantly admits, looking uncomfortable. "But with the number of refugees in the camps it was easy to disappear into the crowd. I just had to try to stay far away from the soldiers."

"There was one that nearly succeeded," Kisa continues. "He constantly stalked me, always trying to catch me off guard and grab me. When I boarded the transport wagon bearing refugees into Amestris, he stormed through the back and started pulling me out. The driver and guard upfront didn't know what was going on and started moving the wagon. If it weren't for Aunt Aina hitting him with her walking stick and the others holding onto me, he would've dragged me off. He was enraged and raised his gun to shoot at us when another soldier ran up and stopped him."

Kisa looks at the three officers listening in rapt attention. "As you can see, it's not easy for Azambrans to lose that wariness after years of living in fear of disappearing, especially when soldiers single a person out. It just makes everyone think it's happening all over again."

Miles quietly states, "It wasn't my intention to make you or anyone else think that." Gesturing at Maria and Denny, he adds, "Ross and Brosh have orders to escort you back to Central command, but not for an interrogation or to arrest you. They are merely your hosts until Gen. Hughes is free to meet up with you."

"I understand now and everyone will understand that better the longer we're here and we don't see any of that happening," Kisa nods with a slight smile. "Thank you for bearing with our fears and paranoia, Colonel Miles."

"You're welcome," he nods.

"Shall we get going?" Maria suggests, eliciting a nod from Kisa.

Bowing again to Miles, Kisa straightens up before following Maria and Denny through the station.

Minutes later Kisa is sitting in the back seat of a motor vehicle with the two officers sitting in the rear-facing seat opposite her. She's both giddy and nervous because it's her first ride in a horseless carriage. She tries keeping her face inscrutable, but can't help but be amazed at the city flying by outside the window. The size of the buildings and amount of people and cars on the streets amaze her and she can't decide on what to pay closer attention to, the ride or the scenery.

Maria watches the teen in amusement correctly deducing the girl has never been in a motorcar before or in such a large city as Central. She also marvels at her resemblance to Ed.

Denny is of the same mind, but can't resist staring. Finally his curiosity gets the better of him and he breaks the silence to ask Kisa, "Are you related to Ed somehow? Like a distant cousin or something?"

Startled, Kisa turns from looking out the window to her left to blink at him before shrugging. "Not that I know of. Depends if he has any ancestors from Azambra. Might be a very distant relation if that's the case."

Denny shakes his head. "It's amazing. You could pass for Ed's twin."

Kisa gives a soft, sad smile saying, "That's what Uncle said."

Puzzled, Maria angles her head, pointing out, "You keep referring to an 'uncle,' if you have a relative in Amestris, why did Gen. Hughes sponsor you?"

Kisa blinks in confusion before understanding dawns on her. "In Azambra it's customary to call older men who aren't related 'uncle' and women 'aunt,'" she explains. "It's a sign of respect. I call Gen. Hughes 'uncle' for that reason."

Maria nods in understanding while Denny processes her words. Thinking the conversation is done Kisa resumes gazing out the window, but is distracted when the two huddle together. It isn't hard to hear their hushed whisperings.

"How does this girl know Brigadier General Hughes?" Maria asks Denny behind her hand.

"And how does she know him well enough to call him uncle?" he asks instead.

"I thought the general might've been asked to sponsor Kisa by an acquaintance," she reasons.

Denny breaks off from commenting when he notices Kisa watching them with a curious expression.

"Heh, are you enjoying the ride so far?" Denny asks with a nervous laugh while rubbing the back of his head.

"Um, we were just…" Maria trails off, trying to come up with a plausible explanation.

Cocking her head slightly, Kisa asks, "If you're curious, why don't you just ask?"

"Well, um, it's like this…" Denny fumbles along.

"I'm sorry," Maria apologizes, quietly. "We really shouldn't be wondering about your relationship with Gen. Hughes since it's his and your private business."

Kisa's gaze drifts back out the window in thought before she looks back at the two embarrassed officers. "As far as I know, nothing about my acquaintance with Uncle is top secret, so I don't mind sharing." Not giving either one a chance to reply, she continues, "I met Gen. Hughes two years ago when he was injured within Azambra. My family found him and gave him aid and I took to calling him 'uncle' then. He left when he was well enough, promising to let the world know what was happening in Azambra and told us to list him as a sponsor if we survived."

Kisa trails off, letting them process her words and not feeling guilty keeping many details quiet. She doesn't want to risk them asking uncomfortable questions. Inevitably Uncle will be asking some painful questions, but she feels he has the right to ask. She won't feel so embarrassed if she cries in front of him.

"Wow," Denny finally mutters. "Thank you for helping the general like that."

At her confused expression Maria explains, "A lot of people think very highly of Gen. Hughes, so we're grateful you helped him return home."

When Kisa remains silent, Denny spares her from further embarrassment, saying, "If you don't mind us showing off a little, how about we tell you more about what you're seeing outside the windows as we make our way to Central Command?"

"I'd like that," Kisa agrees shyly.

Denny and Maria take turns pointing out specific landmarks, putting Kisa further at ease with them and she begins asking questions until they reach Central Command.

"Private, circle around Central Command," Maria orders the driver over her shoulder.

"It's amazing!" Kisa breathes in awe. "It looks like a city within a city!"

"Central Command operates independently, so that's an accurate assessment," Denny chuckles.

"It's in much better shape than it was two years ago," Maria explains. "Much of Central Command had to be rebuilt after an attempted coup. There was considerable damage that is still being repaired, but most of the exterior is complete."

The car pulls up at a side entrance and Denny helps Kisa off the car.

"Gen. Hughes has an all day meeting today, but will have a lunch break and meet up with us. In the meantime, would you like a tour?" Maria asks.

Kisa considers it before agreeing. "I'm a little tired, but I'm also stiff and sore from sitting on a train for the past few days. And a tour would not only be interesting, but a good way to stretch my legs."

"A first rate tour coming right up!" Denny declares eagerly, prompting Maria to roll her eyes before ushering Kisa inside the building.

As she walks between the two officers down the corridors, Kisa focuses on their narrative, not only because she finds it interesting, but also because she's drawing a lot of unwanted stares from passer bys. It makes her a little nervous being around so many military personnel, but understands she's likely to see plenty more since Uncle is a general. She reasons she must stand out being dressed in the typical fashion of an Azambran woman. Since arriving in Amestris she's aware that her colorful patterned sarong skirt is atypical of Amestrian women. Despite having removed her headscarf to wear it as a shawl, as is her habit once inside a building, she realizes she must still stick out regardless.

Her awareness of the stares of others is muted by her awe of the sheer size of the building and the different departments housed within. She's also intrigued by the fairly friendly ambiance of the staff, especially in comparison to oppressive fear practiced by both the People's Army and many Aerugo soldiers.

As the trio moves through the building, Kisa quietly asks her guides, "Should I be saluting like you do when you salute certain men and women?"

Maria smiles at the teen. "As enlisted personnel, it's protocol for us to stop and salute higher ranking officers. However, you're a civilian and aren't expected to follow the same protocol. Even if we were to stop and speak to a higher-ranking officer, you wouldn't have to greet them any differently than you would anyone in your homeland."

Nodding, Kisa continues walking with them. She smiles and inclines her head in greeting when Maria and Denny salute another officer walking with two aides. She's not sure of his rank, but she's pretty sure it's high. She refocuses on her guides since the man continues walking on after barely acknowledging them.

She does wonder how soon it'll be until lunchtime so she can see Uncle again.

* * *

The officer pauses several paces after passing the two lower officers and civilian in the corridor, watching the three continue away from him.

"Gen. Hakuro, are you all right?" one of his aides asks.

Ignoring the question, Hakuro turns around and resumes walking the corridor, trying to brush off the niggling sensation he's seen that girl before. It's a few minutes before he remembers: The Fullmetal Alchemist.

He recalls the young man retired from the military nearly two years ago and is rumored to be currently traveling abroad. Old anger stirs to life as he remembers a smug Mustang informing him of Elric's retirement when he tried pressuring the upstart into convincing Fullmetal to reenlist.

Hakuro's scowl deepens as he wonders why Fullmetal is wandering the hallways at Central Command and dressed so strangely. Even his demeanor is atypical.

With each passing moment his suspicion increases. Considering his options, he doesn't want to risk Mustang catching wind and attempting to subvert the situation to his advantage and another promotion. Hakuro realizes it's up to him to handle the situation. It's just going to have to wait until the generals meeting with the Fuhrer concludes later.

"Perkins," he snaps.

"Yes, sir?" the young, lanky blond timidly asks, matching his pace to Hakuro instead of continuing to trail behind.

"Head over to security and notify them pick up a suspicious person for espionage. They are currently masquerading as the Fullmetal Alchemist and have fooled two lower ranking officers to infiltrate Central Command. They are to detain the suspect until I can question them later."

"Sir, where do I tell security to find this suspicious person?" Perkins asks in confusion.

Hakuro gives him a withering glare, causing the young man to shrink back. "You just saw them! You can't be that much of an idiot not to see the imposter dressed in strange clothing posing as the Fullmetal Alchemist!"

"Um," Perkins begins nervously. "Do you mean that civilian girl escorted by the captain and 2nd Lt. we just passed?"

"Of course!" Hakuro snaps. "Don't you know what the Fullmetal Alchemist looks like?"

"N-no, sir."

Hakuro glowers before muttering, "Idiot. Hurry to security and provide them a description of that suspect before they get too close to any restricted areas."

"Yes, sir!" Perkins salutes before rushing off to carry out his orders.

* * *

When Roy becomes Fuhrer, Maes is going to make him place a permanent moratorium on all budget meetings.

Having wasted what feels like the best years of his life sitting with all the generals and Fuhrer Grumman in a budget meeting, he can only describe his current state of mind as bored.

Although, 'bored' doesn't really cover it, but it's the best adjective his numbed mind can think of to describe his current condition.

Being a brigadier general has its perks besides the increased pay and benefits. However, meetings like this one remind Maes of the downside. It wouldn't be so bad if more of the agenda were relevant to his department or something he gives a shit about. However, purchase approvals for radio equipment hold little interest for him.

Glancing over at Roy, he notes his friend is doing a good job masking his boredom. However, years of friendship tune him into the fact Roy is just as bored as he is.

Not that there haven't been entertaining moments. Throughout the meeting he watched the subtle glaring match and disguised barbs Roy and Lt. Gen. Olivier Armstrong kept throwing at each other. That only lasted until both tired of the game.

Despite frequent, short breaks, Maes is eager for their lunch break to be called so he can reunite with Kisa. Unfortunately, his eagerness seems to make the time agonizingly slow.

It doesn't help that Hakuro, who unfortunately is sitting across from him, keeps slowing things down with his inane questions and insistent declarations of the obvious. Maes already calculated the angle, force and trajectory needed to lob his pen through the hole in the blowhard's earlobe. Not that he'll actually throw it. He really likes his pen.

A knock on the door breaks Maes' numb reverie, much to his relief.

"Come in," Fuhrer Grumman calls out.

"Pardon the intrusion," one the Fuhrer's secretaries apologizes while stepping into the board room. "One of Gen. Hughes' subordinates has an urgent message and he says it can't wait until the next break."

Maes frowns at the statement as Grumman glances up at the clock on the wall before sighing. "It's close to lunch anyway and I have a few things to do. Let's make it a two-hour break so everyone can catch up on official business and have enough time to eat. Dismissed."

All the generals begin collecting their documents. Grumman rises from his seat and leaves the room as various aids swarm in to speak to their respective generals.

Taking his time, Roy unobtrusively gathers up his notes, watching Maes as Denny finishes his hurried whisperings in his ear. Maes' expression uncharacteristically darkens as he promptly rises to his feet and stalks out the door.

Joining him, Riza comments, "I wonder what that was about?"

"Only one way to find out," Roy mutters as he follows in Hughes' wake with a disgruntled Riza trailing behind.

They aren't the only ones to notice the abrupt change in Maes Hughes. Olivier Armstrong happened to be standing nearby when she felt the abrupt change in the normally genial man. She watches Hughes leave, followed immediately by Mustang and Colonel Hawkeye.

Turning her attention back onto a worried looking 2nd Lieutenant who is stupidly oblivious to his surroundings, she stealthily moves behind him to lay a firm hand on his shoulder, causing him to jerk as if shocked. As he turns to face her, his worried expression morphs into fear and gulps nervously when he realizes who just startled him.

Armstrong inwardly smirks. Good, she can use his terror to her advantage.

She vaguely notes that the other generals have already left, giving her some privacy with the 2nd Lieutenant.

* * *

Glaring hard enough to incinerate if she had the ability, Maria wonders how to justify putting a hole in the forehead of the smug ass refusing to listen to her.

She's wasted too much time attempting to reason with the squat desk jockey while Denny tries notifying General Hughes of their predicament. She derives little satisfaction from knowing that if she's pissed, the general will be positively livid once he arrives, not when it's adversely affecting an innocent girl.

Losing her temper, she leans forward to slam both hands on desk in front of the idiot, growling, "If you bothered to listen for a moment, you'd realize you're making a huge mistake!"

The lieutenant colonel gives her a sardonic look. "You do not hold a rank to demand any information regarding a suspect in custody. You should be careful or you could be considered an accomplice."

Before Maria can respond, another voice startles them both.

"The lieutenant colonel should be careful in not taking too long to offer all information regarding his latest suspect in custody or he'll be cited for insubordination."

Both turn to see Maes, Roy and Riza entering the room. Jumping to attention, both promptly greet them with a salute.

"Report!" Maes orders.

"The captain here is attempting to…" the lt. colonel begins before Maes cuts him off.

"I was not speaking to _you_," Maes snaps, his fierce glare causing the lt. colonel to snap back into attention.

Maes turns to look expectantly at Maria. She briefly considers throwing the lt. colonel a smug look, but decides to begin her explanation instead, knowing better than to delay when Hughes is in this kind of mood.

"Per your orders 2nd Lt. Brosh and I picked up Kisa Namikaze from the station and returned to Central Command at approximately 1000 hours. We were giving Ms. Namikaze the grand tour when Lt. Col. Arjun and Major Bison arrested her about a half hour ago. Neither would give a reason for her arrest, so we followed them back here to the detention block. When it became clear Lt. Col. Arjun wouldn't budge I sent Brosh to notify you."

Hughes turns to Arjun, coldly asking, "On what charges was Kisa Namikaze arrested?"

Before Arjun can answer, another figure enters through a side door on the far side of the room, attracting everyone's attention. The rank on the intruder's uniform shows he's a major. With his bald head down, his meaty hands fiddle with a ring of tangled keys. He is an exceptionally large man, possibly bulkier than Lt. Col. Alex Armstrong.

"The bitch is in shackles and secure in isolation," the major mumbles before succeeding in untangling the jumble.

Finally looking up, he's startled to see the crowd gathered in the room.

Crossing over him, Riza takes advantage of Major Bison's confusion to grab the keys from him. "What is Kisa Namikaze's cell number?"

Recovering his wits, Bison growls, "She's a suspected spy and is staying where she is."

He barely has time to blink when he feels her pistol pressed firmly between his balls.

"What is Kisa Namikaze's cell number?" Riza repeats calmly.

Breaking out in a cold sweat when he hears the hammer cock, he stammers out, "N-n-number 42. Down the hall, two rights, past the processing area, a left and another right."

"Captain Ross, come with me," Riza orders as she removes her pistol and eases the hammer down with an ominous click.

Resisting the urge to smirk at the fate the two fools drew for themselves, Maria promptly disappears through the door after Riza.

As they pass the processing area, both women notice an odd hole in the plaster of a nearby wall. Dismissing it, both continue until they arrive at cell 42.

Maria steps up to the door and frowns in confusion when she opens the observation slot and peers into pitch-blackness.

"Kisa?" she calls into the darkness and receives no answer.

Riza proceeds to unlock and open the door while Maria steps off to the side to flick the switch on the wall nearby.

Stepping inside the small cell, both stand momentarily stunned in the open doorway.

Opposite of them on a wall mounted, wooden bench, Kisa lays in an awkward heap on her right side. Her legs dangle over the edge onto the floor, like her body was carelessly dumped there. Her hands are cuffed together and bound to her waist with a long lead chain connected to the bindings on her ankles.

Blood covers half her face, obscuring most of the bruising and swelling around her left eye and temple. Vomit drips from the bench near her mouth to the floor, indicating she recently threw up, possibly while unconscious.

Maria glances over at Riza and notices the colonel's keen eyes narrowing at the unconscious girl in scrutiny.

"You're not imagining it," she comments as she steps over to Kisa, prompting Riza into action. "She's identical to Ed."

Handing Maria the keys, Riza kneels down near Kisa's head. "There's more time for me to marvel at the resemblance later, but it's certainly surprising," she muses while trying to gently pick Kisa's bloody, tangled hair from the oozing wound.

"Needless to say, Denny and I were blown away when we first saw her this morning," Maria states while working on unlocking the shackles.

Riza nods while carefully tilting Kisa's head for a better look at the wound. "It's fortunate she was on her side or she would've choked on her own vomit."

Maria finishes removing the shackles and peers over Riza's shoulder for a better look before worriedly asking, "How is she?"

"She took a pretty good blow to the head. May need stitches and probably has a concussion." Meeting Maria's concerned gaze, Riza orders, "Go back and call for a medic. I'll stay in case she wakes up."

Maria nods and salutes before leaving to carry out her orders.

* * *

When the two women disappeared through the door, Major Bison joined Lt. Col. Arjun at attention before the two generals.

"What reason or proof did Gen. Hakuro offer for suspecting a teenage girl of being a spy, Arjun?" Maes finally growls.

"None," Arjun smartly replies. "Our orders were to arrest and detain her until given further instruction."

Arching a brow, Roy asks, "Doesn't there have to be probable cause for an arrest regardless of orders?"

"There doesn't have to be much probable cause when it's suspicion of espionage, sir," Arjun replies.

Maes snaps, "On what grounds?"

The man hesitates, looking nervous for the first time, prompting Maes to repeat in a low growl, "On what grounds?"

Arjun swallows before answering, "Gen. Hakuro sent an aid ordering us to take into custody a possible spy masquerading as the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric. We're to detain the suspect until the general can stop by later to conduct an interrogation."

Having reentered the room during Arjun's statement, Maria crosses over to the desk where the phone extension is, pointing out, "I advised Lt. Col. Arjun that Gen. Hughes was Ms. Namikaze's sponsor and should be contacted immediately. I even handed over her immigration papers as proof of her identity, which I had been holding because of her similarity to Edward Elric. He didn't even look at them before crumpling them up and tossing them into the wastebasket by his desk, refusing to return them to me."

When Maria reaches the desk, Maes asks, "How's Kisa?"

Maria pauses in dialing to admit, "She was shackled in chains, which we released her from. However, she was unconscious from an injury to her left temple and may have a concussion. Col. Hawkeye ordered me to get a medic."

Maes numbly nods for Maria to continue with the call before turning his fierce gaze onto the uncomfortable looking major. His cold voice asks, "Care to explain the injury?"

Bison regains some bravado to smartly snap, "Force is sometimes necessary to subdue a suspect regardless of age or gender when they resist arrest. That can mean hitting a suspect to make them compliant."

Maria hangs up the phone and snarls, "I spent the better part of the morning with Ms. Namikaze and that girl would not have resisted arrest! The _necessary_ force you used caused a bloody gash that is likely to need stitches. You're at least three times her size in height and bulk, so you're really going to try arguing the force you used wasn't excessive?"

Roy captures their attention stating, "In addition to the question of whether excessive force was used, there are more reasons to question the validity of the arrest. It appears Col. Miles supervised the processing of the refugees at the station earlier today."

Everyone turns to look at Roy as he reads through Kisa's crumpled immigration papers he retrieved from the wastebasket. "The colonel personally signed off on her documents," he continues. "So does this mean you'll arrest people without probable cause despite the fact there are legal documents signed by a respected colonel trained to spot spies?"

A female voice from the doorway intones, "That's what I'd like to know."

Gen. Olivier Armstrong stands in the doorway with Denny peering over her shoulder looking nervous.

"What brings you down to the detention block?" Roy asks, arching a brow.

"Curiosity," she admits. "Col. Miles is specially trained and experienced in spotting undesirables hiding among the throngs of incoming refugees. He was temporarily reassigned to train and oversee the military police in charge of processing the Azambran refugees. My curiosity was piqued to see Gen. Hughes uncharacteristically livid and had the 2nd Lt. inform me of the situation. However, hearing Col. Miles personally signed off on those documents indicates the refugee in question is above suspicion."

Turning her icy gaze back onto Bison and Arjun, she adds, "So if the Lt. Colonel and Major would not accept the existence of a document legally signed by Col. Miles, that implies they do not trust him. Perhaps they should have arrested him as well?"

Arjun and Bison look terrified at the idea.

Roy nonchalantly adds, "It also implies you didn't train your men that well. After all, a subordinate's actions often reflect poorly on their commanding officer."

Roy and Maes smirk as the glint in Olivier's eyes intensifies and the two men cower in fear.

* * *

Once alone with the unconscious girl, Riza resumes carefully examining the head wound, wincing at the damage. Deciding to check for any other injuries, she eases her hand under Kisa's head while positioning her other hand on the girl's shoulder to shift her onto her back.

As she starts gently pushing on the shoulder, Kisa gasps before groaning in pain. She feebly grabs Riza's arm, causing the older blonde to stop and watch her face twist in pain. After several long moments, familiar gold eyes open to look dazedly up at Riza.

Riza smiles reassuringly. "I'm Colonel Riza Hawkeye and am a friend of Gen. Hughes. I'm not trying to hurt you, but I need to check you for further injuries."

"I'm Kisa Namikaze," she greets softly in return. She takes a moment to study Riza before asking in a soft, pain filled voice, "Are the soldiers who arrested me around? Because they might not like that you're in the cell with me. They said I'm supposed to be isolated."

"They're currently dealing with two pissed off generals; they're not going to be trying anything anytime soon," Riza wryly explains. Becoming serious again, she adds, "I need to shift you onto your back in order to do an adequate assessment of your injuries."

"All right," Kisa nods.

She doesn't resist when Riza starts shifting her onto her back, eliciting a hoarse cry. As she breathes heavily from the pain, Riza examines her, discovering her right shoulder is dislocated. Kisa also gasps when she gently presses her ribs on her right side.

"What happened?" Riza asks a few minutes later.

Kisa sighs softly. "Capt. Ross and Lt. Brosh were giving me a tour when two soldiers came up behind us and pulled me away from them. One pushed me against a wall and shackled me, but I could hear Capt. Ross and Lt. Brosh arguing with the other one, demanding to know what was going on. When he said I was under arrest, they spent the entire walk back to the detention area trying to convince him they were making a mistake. The big one dragged me away from them, saying I had to be secured in a cell."

Her deep breath is interrupted by pain, causing her to wince before continuing quietly, "I recovered my wits, remembering I wasn't in Azambra or Aerugo anymore. Things are different here and by rights I can ask what the charges against me are and the soldiers arresting me are supposed to tell me. Unless," Kisa's voice drops lower, "I misunderstood Amestrian law."

"You understood it correctly," Riza nods, moving to perch on the edge of the bench near Kisa's hip. "Regardless of the charge, you have the right to know them."

"Good," she sighs again. "I stopped in the hallway and barely asked when the soldier hit me. At least, I thinks he hit me," she pauses hesitantly. "I'm not sure, though. There no one else was around, but I didn't even see his fist come at me and suddenly everything went black."

Riza mentally fills in the rest as she recalls the odd hole in the wall she and Maria passed earlier. Thinking back on it, a blow from a man Bison's size could easily send someone as small as Kisa flying. She must've impacted the wall, which explained the dislocated shoulder and possibly fractured ribs.

Reaching out, Riza gently tilts Kisa's head to examine the right side of her skull, arching a brow at the fact there doesn't seem to be any injuries on that side. Somehow Kisa's head avoided impacting the wall, which was possible since the hole is very close to a corner.

Riza is jarred from her thoughts when she notices Kisa closing her eyes.

"Kisa?" She watches the girl struggle to open her eyes. When glassy gold refocuses on her, she explains, "You may have a concussion and need to stay awake until the medics arrive."

"But I feel so tired," Kisa moans softly.

"You need to stay awake," Riza repeats, shaking her head. Smiling, she adds, "It certainly turned into quite the first memorable day in Central didn't it?"

Kisa slowly processes her question before smiling back. "Yes, but probably not one Uncle wished for me."

Confused, Riza asks, "Uncle?"

"It's how Azambrans address older males they respect," Kisa explains. "For women, it's 'aunt'. It's a long story, but I call Gen. Hughes 'uncle' for that reason."

Riza nods, saying, "I'd like to know the story behind that later, if that's all right, but I hope you don't think all Amestrian soldiers are abusive like the major and lieutenant colonel who arrested you."

"I don't. It's unfair to judge an entire group by the actions of the few."

In an effort to keep the girl awake and talking until the medics arrive, Riza asks, "What do you think of Central so far?"

Understanding it's for her own good, Kisa makes an effort to stay awake and rambles over what she has seen and shares her thoughts on them. She thinks she must sound like a little kid.

Riza listens to the slurred ramblings, asking inane questions to help her. Fortunately, it isn't long before the medics arrive, interrupting them.

"I'm going to leave so the medics will have more room to work," Riza explains to the teen. "I'll let Gen. Hughes know what's going on so he doesn't worry."

"Thank you," Kisa replies softly.

Rising to her feet, Riza moves out of the way and exits the cell. Retracing her path back to the office, she stops at the hole in the wall. Taking a few minutes, she carefully examines the damage, noting it's the right height and size for someone Kisa's size.

Continuing on her way, she reenters the office area in time hear Arjun and Bison feebly attempt to explain their actions to an irritated Gen. Armstrong. Noting the smug look on Roy's face, she knows she must've missed something good and makes a mental note to ask him later as she moves to stand by him.

Her entrance doesn't go unnoticed and Maes interrupts to ask Riza, "How's Kisa?"

"She suffered multiple injuries resulting from a strong blow to the head that sent her impacting with a wall," Riza explains, watching Bison pale out of the corner of her eye. "Physical evidence supports her claim that the major hit her when she tried rightfully asking what the charges against her were. There is a hole in the wall near one of the processing alcoves that is the right height and width for someone her size."

Turning to Bison, Maes' eyes narrow. "Are you still going to claim you used reasonable force on a suspect resisting arrest?"

Neither man answers, prompting Olivier to comment, "It sounds like we need to put in a call to Internal Affairs."

Roy turns to Maria since she's closest to the phone and nods, prompting her to pick up the line and call it in.

"It's not a good first impression to a brand new citizen of Amestris who hasn't even been in Central a full day," Riza muses.

"No it isn't," Maes agrees coldly. "And I'll make damn sure the boys in IA conduct a thorough investigation of every arrest the Major and Lt. Col. have ever made to determine if there were any other violations of a suspect's civil rights or if excessive force was used."

"That will put every successfully prosecuted case we've handled the arrest on in jeopardy!" Arjun protests.

"Then perhaps you should've made sure you were following the letter of the law and protocol every time, shouldn't you?" Olivier coolly replies.

"You'll be lucky if you aren't imprisoned and only busted down in rank," Roy comments. Another thought occurs to him as he turns to Olivier, asking, "Is there room for them at Fort Briggs?" At her arched brow, he explains, "They'd benefit from the strict regimen of Briggs, as one never hears of Briggs soldiers breaching protocol or acting improperly."

Olivier imperiously declares, "Such a thing would never happen."

Roy glances back at an uncomfortable looking Bison and Arjun, stating, "All the more reason for them to go there. Wouldn't it be better to reform them if they aren't thrown in prison?"

Olivier considers it. "It would be a good recommendation once the investigations are complete. Briggs will either reform them into ideal soldiers or bury them on the mountain."

Maes smirks grimly at the Major and Lt. Col. as they cringe at the declaration just as the officers from IA arrive.

Roy briefs the officers of the situation and charges against the two men before instructing them to contact their superiors to get replacements to man the detention block.

While Roy debriefs the IA officers as they shackle Bison and Arjun, Maria and Denny move over to Hughes.

"Sir, we're sorry this happened," Maria apologizes. "We never went anywhere near any restricted areas and Kisa didn't act in any way to stir suspicion."

"I remember us passing Gen. Hakuro in the hallway and he didn't even give us a second scowl," Denny adds.

"There was nothing either of you could've done to prevent it, not without it turning into a gunfight," Maes reassures them with a smile. "You followed procedure and did the best you could to get her out of the situation."

"Thank you, sir," Maria nods before hesitantly adding, "The lieutenant and I have to leave."

"You better go then or you won't have enough time for lunch," Maes replies.

"Would it be okay if the captain and I stop by later to check on Kisa, sir?" Denny asks.

Maes' smile widens. "That depends if she ends up hospitalized. Check by the office to see what's going on. Thank you both for taking care of her and for your efforts. Dismissed."

The two partners follow the IA officers and their prisoners out just as the medics emerge from the detention area bearing a stretcher.

Raising a hand, Maes stops them to check on Kisa. She's unconscious and thick bandages wind around her head, covering her left eye. The medics had also immobilized her right arm, binding it to her body with more bandages.

Maes' frown deepens before he looks up to ask, "What is the extent of her injuries?"

"Take her on to the medical wing so the doctor can start examining her," the lead medic orders the others. As they leave, he turns back to Maes. ""She took a strong blow to the head and it certainly looks like it gave her a concussion. The severity will have to be determined by the doctor. Her right shoulder is dislocated and it appears she has at least two fractured ribs. It doesn't appear she suffered any internal injuries, but the doctor will make certain. We only did a field assessment."

"Will she be hospitalized?" Maes asks.

"Depends on the doctor," the medic replies.

"Okay, thanks for informing me."

Maes returns the medic salutes and watches him disappear after the others.

"That is more than reasonable force," Olivier muses.

Maes nods grimly. "Kisa came here to get from the chaos of her homeland, but she still experiences unwarranted brutality by our own soldiers. All because of one idiot who couldn't bother to ask who she was and if she had her papers."

"Does this girl look like Edward Elric?" Olivier asks.

"Identical."

Cocking her head slightly, Olivier muses, "I can see how that could cause problems. However, Hakuro knows better than to order an arrest without probable cause, especially not solely based on her resemblance to a retired state alchemist."

"If he had caught a spy, it would've been a nice feather in his cap," Roy muses.

"You would know all about engineering situations to your advantage, Mustang," she jabs back.

"We both would," he smirks, causing the blonde to growl.

Pointedly ignoring their barbs, Maes points out, "It's impossible for anyone to make themselves look identical to someone else. If Hakuro knew about the homunculi, then I'd concede the idiot would have a damn good reason for his suspicions since we all know one of those bastards could shape shift."

Olivier huffs, "The buffoon was incapable of spotting the obvious when it was right in front of his nose. If it weren't for that, Hakuro would've been arrested in the conspiracy to overthrow Fuhrer Bradley with the rest. Thanks to all the openings in the higher ranks, he got promoted instead."

"Hakuro isn't going to let this matter drop," Roy adds. "He was probably frothing at the mouth at the prospect of catching a spy impersonating Fullmetal."

"He's going to be angry over a missed chance and embarrassed once it gets out he ordered an arrest without probable cause," Olivier concedes.

"Which means that Hakuro will be gunning for Kisa," Maes sighs heavily. "He'll be searching for proof she isn't who she says she is." His gaze turns predatory. "I can deal with Hakuro wanting retribution on my ass, but I'll be damned if I'll let that bastard hurt her again."

Olivier cocks a brow. "The girl is special to you."

Maes nods. "It's a long story I'm willing to share with you later, but she and her twin brother saved my life. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for them."

"Well, you can't repay that debt standing here gossiping, not with Hakuro loose on break as well. He may have even heard what happened by now." Olivier points out. "I've got better things to do before lunch."

Without another word she leaves Maes, Roy and Riza alone in the empty office.

Without a word Maes follows Olivier's lead, well aware of Roy and Riza trailing behind him.

"Why are you following me?"

"We're headed in the same direction," Roy replies.

"We have to get something to eat," Riza adds.

Maes rolls his eyes. "The mess is in the opposite direction."

"Is it now?" Riza drolly queries.

Maes shakes his head, muttering, "You're incorrigible."

"We still have an hour and a half for lunch and have to set up measures to protect Kisa. You can't skip out on the meeting to watch her," Roy points out.

"I know." Maes reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Unfortunately everyone in my division I can trust is busy. Besides, if Capt. Ross and 2nd Lt. Brosh couldn't convince the arresting officers to listen and check the paperwork, there's almost no one else who could stop Hakuro if he pushes the issue. I doubt Kisa's medical treatment will be complete, much less that she'll be released, by the time we return to the meeting."

"Assuming the doctor on duty doesn't send her over to the hospital for an overnight stay," Roy adds.

"What a hell of a way to spend her first day and night in Central," Maes growls, shaking his head.

"I can sit with Kisa until the meeting concludes," Riza offers. When Maes stops to protest, she cuts him off. "I will work on paperwork since I'm merely a buffer in case Hakuro sends anyone else to arrest Kisa."

"Hakuro won't be bothering Kisa anymore once we're through with him." Maes and Riza turn to look at Roy. "It's a good idea to bring this to the Fuhrer's attention. Hakuro is abusing his authority by ignoring protocol and the law to violate Kisa's rights as an Amestrian citizen simply because she's a dead ringer for Fullmetal."

Maes arches a brow. "You just want to embarrass Hakuro again."

"That too," Roy smirks.

Maes shakes his head fondly. Becoming serious he adds, "Hakuro is going to keep trying simply to prove he's right for as long as he thinks he can get away with it."

"Hakuro has always been suspicious of your reappearance when you had been declared dead," Riza reminds them. "He never accepted the explanation that you were on a special undercover assignment for Fuhrer Bradley."

Wearily Maes' rubs the bridge of his nose. "What a mess. If I'd known this could happen I would've asked Denny and Maria to take Kisa home. However, I wanted to spend time with her after the meeting getting reacquainted. As it was, she was nervous about meeting Gracia and Elicia."

"There was no way to know Hakuro would see her, much less attempt to save Amestris from an imaginary spy," Roy points out. "We can't change what happened, but we can keep Hakuro far away from her."

"I'll pick up my paperwork," Riza interrupts. "Then I'll get lunch for all of us." Turning to Maes, she suggests, "You should contact Gracia. On the off chance the doctor doesn't hospitalize Kisa, she needs time to prepare for an injured guest."

Maes grimaces. "I'm not looking forward to explaining this to Gracia."

"Better than showing up at home with Kisa wrapped in bandages," Roy reasons.

Riza turns to Roy, suggesting, "You should put a call into Col. Douglas. He's still in charge of Provost Marshall's Office and even though Arjun and Bison are now in their care, he may not yet know about Hakuro's involvement. He might appreciate a warning of the impending fallout."

Roy contemplates it before muttering, "As it is he hates when military personnel abuses rank and ignores protocol regardless of who they are. He'd be more inclined to conduct a thorough investigation to make sure Hakuro doesn't continue abusing his rank."

"I'll meet you both in the medical wing," Riza salutes.

She continues in the opposite direction while the two men continue toward the medical wing.

When they check in at the reception desk, they learn the doctor is still examining Kisa. Maes calls Gracia while Roy finds another extension to put in a call to Col. Douglas.

Afterward, Maes meets Roy in a nearby waiting room.

"Well, I called it," Maes states as they settle next to each other in the seats. "Gracia was upset to hear what happened, but said she'd have things ready should Kisa be allowed to return home with me."

"That makes two of us," Roy replies. "My conversation with Douglas was brief, but he was not happy to hear about what happened. The security division falls under his command as well, so he was not pleased to hear about his own men participating in Hakuro's bad deeds and swore to conduct a thorough investigation immediately."

"That doesn't do much to stop Hakuro in the meantime. We're probably going to have to slow down the meeting further to inform the Fuhrer about the situation."

Roy shrugs. "It's still a hell of a lot more interesting than the agenda so far."

"True," Maes laughs.

Soon Riza arrives with lunch and they eat while waiting for word from the doctor. A half hour before Roy and Maes have to return to their meeting, the doctor finally comes out.

"Good afternoon, generals, colonel," the young doctor greets. "I'm Dr. Knox."

"Doctor Knox?" Roy asks, mirroring Riza's surprise. "Are you related to Dr. Knox the pathologist?"

"He's my father," the young brunet smiles. "After everything my father went through because of Ishval, I'm trying to do what I can to help the military correct the sins of the past."

When they nod in understanding Dr. Knox begins to explain the extent of Kisa's injuries. "Ms. Namikaze didn't sustain any grievous or life threatening injuries. She has a mild concussion from the blow to her left temple and the wound did require stitches. The doctor currently stitching her up will keep the stitches as small and neat as possible to minimize scarring and estimates it'll take about eight stitches to close the wound. Two of her ribs are fractured, but fortunately not broken. There's not much we can do as they'll heal on their own. Normally I'd advise against strenuous movement, but her movement is going to be severely limited anyway because of the dislocation of her right shoulder and right hip."

Maes blinks in shock, repeating, "Her hip is dislocated?"

Dr. Knox nods. "Initially it appeared all her injuries were to her upper body and since her skirt is very loose it obscured the obvious signs of dislocation. When she was conscious, she was in so much pain she probably wasn't even aware of it. We did an extensive exam and that's how we caught it. Both her hip and shoulder have been reset, so other than some bruising around the injured areas, she's in pretty good shape."

"Is she's going to be hospitalized?" Maes asks.

Dr. Knox answers with his own question. "Does she have someone at home capable of taking care of her?"

"She'll be living with my family," Maes nods.

"Good. She's unconscious right now, but can go home with you when she wakes up. She's going to have to take it easy for a few weeks and will need a lot of rest because of the concussion. Her arm will have to be in a sling while it heals and she'll be wheelchair bound for a couple of weeks, gradually switching to crutches then maybe a cane." Pausing to let the information sink in, Dr. Knox adds, "I read the initial report that she's newly emigrated from Azambra. She's been suffering malnutrition for a while hasn't she?"

"For years," Maes readily admits. "She survived the oppressive occupation of Azambra."

"That explains why she took so much damage," Knox sighs before explaining further. "Had she been healthier, the worst that might've happened besides the stitches is bruising. She impacted a plaster wall, but that's not uncommon around here. However, most military personnel are in good condition and aren't likely to suffer that many injuries. She needs to see a family physician and go on a special diet to recover from the long lasting effects of the malnutrition. Especially with her left hand."

"What about her left hand?" Maes asks in confusion.

It's Dr. Knox's turn to look puzzled. "Didn't you notice she's missing three fingers on her left hand?"

Stunned Maes slowly shakes his head. "I met her over two years ago and only saw her for the first time since then when they carried her unconscious on a litter out of the detention area. I didn't notice her hand."

"She only has her index and thumb fingers on her left hand," Knox explains. "It obviously was a poor amputation as there are signs of recurring infection. I'm not an expert in orthopedics, but I've seen similar situations. It's possible she may need surgery." He pauses to give Maes and the others a moment to process his words before continuing. "I recommend you get a referral to an orthopedic specialist when you follow up with your family doctor. I'll prescribe pain medication; otherwise her orders are plenty of bed rest."

"Thank you, doctor," Maes stands to shake his hand.

Dr. Knox nods at Riza and Roy before leaving the three officers alone again.

Sitting back down heavily, Maes groans as he buries his face in his hands, muttering, "This is one hell of a way to start a new life in Amestris."

Roy crosses his arms commenting, "Then we'll have to take it out on Hakuro's hide on Kisa's behalf."

Dropping his hands, Maes nods grimly. "That we will."

* * *

**_A/N_**_: That, my friends, is an early Christmas present. Unless you're Jewish, atheist, agnostic or non-Christian, then in that case you can consider it a New Years present._

_However, that can't apply to those folks who only celebrate the Chinese New Year, sooooo, I guess 'Happy Winter Solstice' applies, I think. ;P_

_Hope you guys enjoy and thank you all for reading._


	5. Chapter 5

Maes and Roy barely step back inside the boardroom before an angry Hakuro stalks up to, glaring daggers at Roy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Mustang?" he demands, capturing the attention of all the other generals in the room. "You interfered with the arrest of a suspected spy! Are you that desperate for attention that you'll deliberately risk the safety of Amestris with your recklessness?"

Before Roy can answer, Maes steps into Hakuro's personal space, growling, "Roy had nothing to do with it. I did."

Another voice quips, "Are you that eager to get the meeting underway?"

Hakuro turns his gaze to Fuhrer Grumman. "Hughes is trying to cover up Mustang's feeble attempt at attention whoring, which is putting Amestris in danger!"

Grumman arches a brow, asking, "Attention whoring? What in the hell are you talking about?"

"Hakuro had my ward arrested on suspicion of espionage without probable cause," Maes cuts Hakuro off with a growl. "Two of my men picked her up at the station when she arrived with the first group of Azambran refugees and was cleared by Col. Miles. They were giving her the grand tour of Central Command when they apparently crossed paths with Hakuro. He had her arrested because she looks identical to Edward Elric. She wasn't doing anything to warrant her arrest and was in the company of two ranking officers. Thanks to Hakuro's stupidity, she is currently in the medical wing getting treated for two dislocated limbs, a couple of fractured ribs and a head wound requiring stitches."

"You should select your wards more carefully, Hughes," Hakuro snaps. "Your ignorance put Amestris in danger as the suspect was masquerading as a former state alchemist."

Before Maes can reply, Grumman raises a calming hand and asks Hakuro, "Was the girl was dressed like Edward Elric?"

Hakuro hesitantly answers, "No. She was dressed wearing a strange type of skirt."

Grumman arches a brow, asking, "Was she acting like Elric?"

"She was walking and listening to the two officers with her. It was too hard to judge."

Grumman nods. "Was she trying to access highly classified areas?"

Hakuro snaps, "She either already did or was planning to!"

Grumman nods and clasps his hands behind his back, pacing as he summarizes, "So you had a girl arrested who hadn't attempted to access restricted areas or classified documents because she was doing her best impersonation of a cross-dressing Edward Elric. Is that correct?"

Chuckles reverberate in the room while Hakuro turns red with fury.

Grumman stops and raises another calming hand, stating, "Obviously you believe she may be a spy, but Hughes contends otherwise. This matter isn't going to resolve itself on its own without some definitive proof. Thomas!" Grumman calls out. When a curly haired brunette appears in the doorway, he orders, "Summon Col. Miles since he was supervising the processing of the incoming Azambran refugees this morning. I also want to see Col. Douglas for his preliminary report on the officers arrested today. I also want the young lady injured today brought before me. You'll find her in the medical wing."

"Yes, sir!" Thomas salutes before leaving to carry out her orders.

"Sir," Maes begins to protest, prompting Grumman to cut him off.

"So this doesn't happen again, it's best to bring her in, assuming the doctor treating her will allow it. It's better to settle the matter once and for all, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir," Maes reluctantly agrees.

"Now," Grumman states, moving to his seat at the head of the table. "It may take awhile for everyone to get here. We should attempt to progress further through the agenda in the meantime."

Murmurs of assent echo throughout the room as the assembled generals take their seats along the table and get the meeting back underway.

* * *

Kisa's treatment is complete nearly an hour after Maes and Roy left. Riza then has to wait until the medical staff assigns the girl to a room usually designated for patients waiting for transfer to the hospital. Riza takes over a spare table tray to use as a desk to spread out her papers on, moving it in front of a chair by the unconscious girl's bedside and gets to work.

Periodically the older blonde looks over at the girl. Kisa has been changed from her soiled clothing into a hospital gown and her head is swathed in bandages, obscuring her left eye. Her right arm rests in a sling and her right leg propped up on a pillow.

A soft knock on the doorframe captures Riza's attention. Seeing Maria smiling in the open door, Riza quietly pushes back the tray and steps out into the hallway.

"Sorry for bothering you, colonel," Maria salutes in greeting. "I wanted to stop by before my appointments this afternoon to drop off Kisa's knapsack and check on her. The bag is her only piece of luggage and we stored it in my desk earlier. I figured Kisa might want her belongings."

"Thanks, captain," Riza nods, taking the bag before explaining Kisa's condition. "She's going to be laid up for awhile. On top of having a mild concussion, she did need about eight stitches to her eye. Two of her ribs are fractured and her right hip and shoulder are both dislocated."

Maria's shocked expression morphs to an angry scowl. "Damn, that asshole Bison really did a number on the poor girl."

"Agreed, but the officers involved are going to wish they'll get off as easy once General Hughes and Mustang are through with them."

"Are they going to be able to punish General Hakuro since it was his orders that caused this whole mess?"

"I don't know," Riza honestly admits. "However, I'm sure they'll do everything they can to make Gen. Hakuro's life hell."

Maria smirks then asks, "Is Kisa getting hospitalized?"

"No," Riza shakes her head. "The doctor is allowing her to return home with Gen. Hughes."

"Good," Maria sighs in relief. Snapping to attention she salutes. "Thank you for filling me in, colonel."

Riza returns the salute. "You're welcome. Dismissed."

After Maria leaves, Riza returns to her seat by Kisa's bed. The scratching of her pen breaks the silence until she hears a soft grunt from the bed. Pausing, she looks over to watch Kisa struggle to open her visible eye until bleary gold slowly focuses.

When the girl's gaze lands on her, Riza smiles, "Do you remember what happened and where you are?"

Kisa takes a few moments before replying, "I'm in the medical wing because the major who arrested me packs a mean right hook."

Riza's smile widens. "Dr. Knox is allowing you to go home with Gen. Hughes, but we have to wait until he's finished with his meeting."

"Why are you sitting with me?" Kisa frowns in confusion. "It has to be well after lunch. Don't you have other duties?"

"We didn't want to chance any further confusion resulting from a mistaken identity, so I volunteered to stay. I brought my paperwork while keeping you company."

"I'm sorry for inconveniencing you and impeding on your duties, colonel. I don't mean to be a burden."

"Please call me Riza and don't apologize. You're not a burden. I'm still getting my paperwork done. You didn't choose to get arrested."

"No, I didn't," Kisa agrees with a soft smile.

Both fall into a comfortable silence as Riza finishes up the folder she's working on. When she closes the file she sets it aside to reach for another.

"May I ask a question?"

Riza considers giving the standard reply she gives to Breda, that she just asked one, but decides against it.

"Yes."

"Do your family or the people you know have a problem with you working and not being married yet? I noticed you don't have a ring on your finger and I assume you're not married."

Riza blinks in surprise before stating, "You're correct. I'm not married, nor do I have children. If anyone has a problem with that, they haven't dared comment on it."

It's Kisa's turn to look surprised. "No one tells you that you should be married?"

Riza shakes her head. Seeing the girl is confused, she takes a deep breath and explains, "My mother died when I was very young and I only had my father until he died. I inherited enough to support myself, but I decided to join the military and made it my career. It's not that I don't want to get married, but it isn't a priority for me. As for my friends and comrades, they all support my career goals and never pressured me into starting a family."

A stunned expression crosses Kisa's face as she processes Riza's words.

"Why do you ask?" Riza prods. "Has someone been pressuring you to get married?"

"I'm sorry for being surprised, but I'm fifteen and most girls in Azambra are already married, betrothed or seeing a matchmaker," Kisa explains. "Even as I moved from camp to camp, people kept asking why I wasn't married yet or when was I going to find a matchmaker. This continued even on the train ride here. Most were scandalized when I said I wanted to find work to support myself first then maybe find a husband later. I was surprised when I met Capt. Ross. She's a woman with a job in the military, but I didn't have the chance to ask if anyone ever insists she should be married and not working."

It takes Riza time to process Kisa's words before asking, "Surely your parents didn't want you marrying so young?"

Kisa sighs heavily. "They were traditional people. My father was a little more progressive and taught me alongside my brothers about business and making deals since he was head of the Order of Merchants and Trade."

"Order of Merchants and Trade? I never heard of it."

"It's a fraternal organization of merchants," the teen explains. "It promoted fair business practices, compliance with the law and community service. It also served as a support structure for merchants in case city or government officials abused the law against them."

Once Riza nods in understanding, Kisa continues, "It was important to my father that all of his children were well educated in proper business practices and trade. He taught me so I could aid my future husband in being more successful. However, he and mother felt they needed to arrange a marriage for me."

"They wanted to arrange a marriage?" Riza gapes in shock.

"They arranged a marriage," she corrects. "When I was four with a distant cousin my brother Kyo and I went to school with. We were supposed to marry when we were thirteen, but everything went by the wayside when the People's Army took over. Couples couldn't marry without their permission."

"Are you still betrothed?"

"No. My betrothed died in a malaria outbreak when we were twelve. However, now everyone keeps asking when I'll see a matchmaker," Kisa sighs in frustration.

After a few moments of silence she adds, "It's refreshing to be in a country where people aren't upset if a woman has a career and isn't married yet."

"I'd shoot anyone who tried," Riza admits. When Kisa meets her gaze she explains, "I'm happy with my life. If I decide to marry, it'll be when the time is right, but even afterward I still plan on working. I love my job and feel I have a lot more to accomplish before I retire."

Kisa smiles as Dr. Knox enters the room.

"Excuse me, ladies," he states before locking his gaze on Kisa. "I wanted to check on how you're doing. How are you feeling?"

"Tired and achy if I don't move too much," Kisa admits honestly.

"Any sharp pains?"

She shakes her head.

"Any nausea?"

Another shake.

"How's your headache?"

"Better than earlier, but it's still there."

"Do you remember what day it is?" Dr. Knox asks while flashing a pen light in her eyes to check their reaction.

"Thursday, April 15th."

"Good," he murmurs, while grabbing her chart to scribble down a few notes.

When he finishes, he looks at her and explains her injuries and what she has to do during recovery. He spends a few minutes answering any questions she has.

Just as they're finishing up, the Fuhrer's aide, Thomas, enters the room and salutes Riza.

"Pardon the intrusion, but the Fuhrer requests that Miss Kisa Namikaze appear to help settle a dispute between two generals."

"Kisa isn't going anywhere since she's in recovery," Dr. Knox snaps.

Undeterred, Thomas arches a brow and asks, "Is she so incapacitated that she can't spare a few minutes for the Fuhrer?"

Before the argument can become more heated, Kisa interrupts with her own questions. "Why would the Fuhrer want to see me? Was I really supposed to be arrested?"

Riza sighs heavily while gathering up her paperwork. "Gen. Hakuro ordered your arrest because you look like a former state alchemist named Edward Elric. In case Gen. Hughes didn't tell you, you're identical to him."

"Uncle told me about him when we first met," Kisa nods. "There's been some confusion since I arrived this morning, but surely that's not enough reason to have me arrested."

"Hakuro wrongly believes you were trying to masquerade as Ed in order to sneak into restricted areas and access classified documents." Kisa's nose scrunches up in disbelief, prompting Riza to nod, "Exactly. He obviously didn't pay attention to the fact you're dressed differently and a completely different gender than Ed." Looking at a patiently waiting Thomas, Riza adds, "It appears Hakuro is still adamant that you're a spy impersonating Ed despite assurances to the contrary."

"Col. Hawkeye is correct," Thomas agrees, addressing Kisa. "The Fuhrer feels it's best to settle things once and for all so they don't continue being an inconvenience to you."

Seeing Kisa's uncertain expression, Dr. Knox states, "Although seeing the Fuhrer doesn't pose any health risks, it's better if you remain and rest."

Kisa finally states, "I still don't understand why Gen. Hakuro would suspect me of espionage. I can't help that I look exactly like Edward Elric, but I barely arrived in Central a couple of hours ago and was never out of Cap. Ross' or 2nd Lt. Brosh's sight."

"You're not required to see the Fuhrer. It's not an order," Thomas explains. "But if he speaks to you in front of Gen. Hakuro and settles all possible doubts then the general has no recourse to bother you ever again. It would be insubordination to do so."

Kisa looks at all three adults, noting none are in agreement before sighing, "I really don't want to repeat today's events. During my tour I didn't dare glance at anyone out of habitual fear of being arrested like in Azambra. Yet, I still got arrested and now am immobile. Although, my injuries would probably have been a lot worse and bloodier in Azambra. I thought I left that all behind." The silence stretches out before she finally adds, "I'll go before the Fuhrer if it'll settle any fears of me being a spy."

"Gen. Hakuro is very one-track in his thinking, it's difficult to change his mind," Riza comments.

"One-track? If we ask the Fuhrer he'll describe Hakuro as a stubborn, dense rock," Thomas quips.

"I was trying to be nice," Riza drolly retorts, causing Kisa to relax and smile a little.

Dr. Knox sighs heavily, "Since Kisa insists, I'm going along." Arching a brow at the other two women's surprised expressions he declares, "I'm not going to let my patient be at the mercy of some lumbering idiot."

Riza eyes him shrewdly, stating, "You've been taking lessons on being a cranky doctor from your father, haven't you?"

"Had to in order to deal with all the crazy military personnel I have to treat," the young doctor huffs. "Besides, I have to make sure no one overtaxes Kisa and she comes back quickly in one piece."

Dr. Knox then shoos Riza and Thomas out of the room as he calls for a nurse to help him prepare Kisa for transport.

* * *

The meeting progresses quickly since Hakuro is distracted and annoyed at Maes. Roy is amused that Maes is the focus of Hakuro's ire this time since it's rare for his friend to piss anyone off like this.

An hour since returning from lunch, the meeting is interrupted again by a knock on the double doors.

"Enter," Grumman calls out.

One door partially opens as another aide steps inside.

"Col. Douglas and Col. Miles arrived, sir," the young man announces.

"Show them in, Carter," Grumman orders.

Pushing back his chair Grumman stands up as the two officers line up before him and salute.

Clasping his hands behind his back, Grumman explains his summons. "I called you two to help clear up a situation that's causing a bit of contention among my generals. Col. Douglas, I'd like to hear your report regarding the arrest of Lt. Col. Arjun and Major Bison."

"Yes, sir," Douglas snaps smartly.

Miles stands quietly off to the side while Douglas gives his report. He wondered why he was being summoned by the Fuhrer, but Douglas indirectly answers his questions. He hides his surprise to hear how two security officers arrested Hughes' ward on suspicion of espionage.

"Both men confessed they did it on orders given to them by Hakuro's aide, Corporal Perkins," Douglas continues, breaking into Miles' musings. "Their instructions were to detain the girl until the general went to interrogate her. The two acknowledge knowingly breeching protocol since Hakuro is not authorized to conduct any such interrogation."

"Wait a minute," Hakuro begins to protest.

Col. Douglas cuts him off, "Only officers in the Investigations division can conduct any interrogations. It's the law. No exceptions."

"Thank you, Col. Douglas," Grumman nods when it's clear he finished his report. "Col. Miles?"

"Yes, sir," Miles replies with a nod.

"You were overseeing the processing of the Azambran refugees at Central Grand Station today, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you have any interaction with Kisa Namikaze?"

"Yes, sir. She stepped up assisting an elderly woman to the table I was standing behind. As they approached my attention was captured by a young man rushing up to them. He turned out to be the woman's grandson and that was when I got a good look at Miss Namikaze."

"Does she look identical to Edward Elric?"

"Yes, sir."

"What happened next?" Grumman asks.

"When the sergeant manning the desk asked for Miss Namikaze's name, he read the notation that she was to accompany Cap. Ross or 2nd Lt. Brosh. When the sergeant asked her to step off to the side with them, there was a sudden surge of anxiety and wariness among the refugees."

"What do you mean?" Grumman frowns in confusion.

"Apparently all the Azambrans took the request as meaning the captain and 2nd lieutenant were there to arrest Miss Namikaze," Miles explains. "It took several minutes to assure the refugees that she was not being arrested, but that the two officers were her hosts until Gen. Hughes became available. According to the refugees, even at the transition camps, getting called out to accompany a soldier resulted in a beating or worse."

Grumman absorbs his words before asking, "Did Miss Namikaze at any time behave in a suspicious manner or say anything to pique your interest?"

"No, sir," Miles shakes his head.

"So you were able to observe her nearly the entire time since she disembarked from the train?"

"Yes, sir. At no time were any of the refugees out of our sight."

Hakuro interrupts from his seat at the table. "According to reports there were nearly 200 refugees that arrived on that train. It would've been impossible to keep track of them all."

Miles looks at him coolly. "It's not impossible if the refugees traveled in separate cars and were not allowed to disembark until all other passengers exited the train and the cargo was unloaded. The refugees were only allowed to exit the train from two sets of exits on one side of the car and were ushered within a designated, secured area until they were processed and allowed to proceed to the transports taking them to the tenements."

"A spy could've slipped in at any time prior," Hakuro scoffs.

Miles arches a white brow. "Which is why I'm also specially training a squad of MPs to integrate with the personnel from Immigration and Naturalization in order to catch any war criminals that might try to slip through."

Before Hakuro can snap back, Grumman cuts him off to ask, "Since you personally signed off on Kisa Namikaze's paperwork, Col. Miles, that means she was above suspicion, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Miles nods. "It was Cap. Ross and 2nd Lt. Brosh's orders that singled her out. Since Gen. Hughes sponsored her, I took extra care verifying her identity when she presented her documents. Aside, from her paperwork being in order, her demeanor and personality are distinctly different from Edward Elric's. It's also a well-known fact that his left leg is automail. Her skirt and sandals left little doubt that her leg was flesh and blood. Since there was nothing suspicious about her, I signed off on the paperwork and handed her over into the captain and 2nd lieutenant's care."

A knock at the door captures their attention.

"Enter," Grumman orders.

Carter steps inside. "Corp. Thomas has returned with Miss Namikaze who is accompanied by Dr. Knox and Col. Hawkeye."

"Send them in," Grumman replies.

Carter and Thomas open both doors to give Dr. Knox enough room to push Kisa through in a wheelchair. Riza trails close behind before stepping off to the side to stand with Douglas and Miles.

Kisa tries avoiding everyone's eyes, but Maes manages to catch her gaze, smiling reassuringly. Recognition and relief lights up her visible eye, but she doesn't return his smile. She promptly refocuses on Grumman. Maes is confused until he remembers Kyo telling him once that it's never good to look too long at someone. It made the cadres suspicious that the two people were conspiring. Maes sighs softly, realizing the occupation is going to have a lasting effect on Kisa for years.

Once the two aides close the door, Grumman steps forward to Kisa.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Namikaze," he greets warmly.

"I'm honored to meet you as well, Fuhrer," Kisa greets back. She attempts to bow forward, placing her left hand in the prayer position at her forehead, but grunts in pain.

Dr. Knox reaches for her left shoulder and gently pulls her upright. "You can't bend like that right now," he admonishes.

She glances over her shoulder at him to breathlessly explain, "It would've been rude not to properly greet the leader of my new homeland."

Grumman smiles capturing her attention, "We can wave the formalities for now in light of your condition." Becoming serious, he asks, "Do you understand why I requested to see you?"

Nodding, Kisa solemnly answers, "Because I resemble an Amestrian by the name of Edward Elric and I've been accused of spying."

Grumman nods, "Good. I'm glad you already understand what's going on." His next question catches her off guard. "How are you feeling?"

She blinks like it should be obvious and Maes can't resist grinning when she replies, "Like a raging bull stomped on me."

Unable to resist, Grumman busts out laughing, eliciting a small smile from Kisa, before calming enough to state, "Well, it certainly looks like you got stomped by a raging bull." Becoming serious he explains, "One of the charges levied against the officers who arrested you is misconduct. At any time while they were arresting you did they declare what the charges against you were?"

"No," Kisa replies with a slight shake of her head. "Even when the major pushed me against the wall to shackle me, Cap. Ross demanded to know the charges. The Lt. Col. threatened her saying, when she attains a more notable rank, then he might tell her. Otherwise, fuck off or he'll arrest her for interference, suspicion of conspiracy and any other charge he can think of."

Hakuro snaps, "She's making up lies against a respected officer to deflect suspicion!"

Grumman turns to firmly remind him, "Do not interrupt." Facing Kisa again, he comments, "Worded that way it almost sounds like a threat."

"That's the way I took it as those were his exact words," she reluctantly admits.

Grumman arches a brow, repeating, "Exact words?"

"Verbatim," Kisa nods.

Hakuro scoffs, "No one remembers conversations verbatim."

Grumman turns around to give him a withering glare before turning back to Kisa and giving her a questioning look.

Knowing what he's silently asking, she sighs softly and explains, "I have a very good memory for conversations and locations. If I think back to a specific conversation, I can remember who was there and exactly what was said."

"That must be very useful," Grumman comments.

Kisa shrugs one shoulder, admitting, "Not so much for me. However, my parents found it very useful as they would call me whenever they were having an argument about something one of them said if I happened to be present at the time."

Grumman busts out laughing again. "That must've settled their arguments quickly."

Kisa nods again, admitting, "It often put me on the bad side of the losing parent for a while."

"I'm sure it did," Grumman replies, amusement still coloring his voice. "Now what did you mean about locations?"

Shifting slightly in the chair, she explains, "No matter how complicated the design, once I passed through a city or a building, I'll remember the exact layout and never get lost."

Incredulous, Grumman repeats, "Never?"

"No, sir," Kisa shakes her head.

"That's impressive." He then asks, "So you can recall what you've seen so far of Central Command, is that correct?"

Kisa begins nodding, prompting another outburst from Hakuro. "That is proof she's a spy! Probably from Drachma or Aerugo!"

Rolling his eyes to the ceiling, Grumman sighs wearily when he notices Kisa tense up and her gaze drop to her lap.

Whirling on Hakuro he orders, "Shut up or you'll be escorted from the room. Is that understood?"

Hakuro looks like he'll protest before grudgingly agreeing, "Yes, sir."

Kisa watches as another general with dark red hair and deep blue eyes rises from his seat and step over to Grumman's side. "Sir, if I may, I'd like to ask Miss Namikaze a few questions before she returns to the medical wing."

Grumman eyes the general before nodding. Turning back to Kisa he states, "This is Gen. Alistair Bristol."

Kisa nods and begins to try bowing again before Dr. Knox proves to be quicker and lays a firm hand on her shoulder.

"No you don't," he declares, glaring at her.

Blushing slightly, she sheepishly replies over her shoulder, "Sorry. I forgot."

Bristol captures her attention by explaining, "Since I heard about you, I've been eager to meet you. My mother is originally from Azambra."

Blinking in surprise, Kisa curiously asks, "What region?"

"The coastal region of Meseta from the city of Getafe."

"She must've had a hard time adjusting to being so far inland," she muses. "Most coastal dwellers prefer to remain close to the gulf."

Bristol laughs. "That's true. Every time my parents go on vacation, mother insists they go to a lake. It's not the ocean, but it's close enough as far as she's concerned." Cocking his head slightly in curiosity, he adds, "I've been wondering about certain aspects of the occupation. Everyone was sent to work camps, correct?" At her nod he asks, "Is it true they tattooed all the city dwellers?"

"Not just the city dwellers, everyone," Kisa answers.

"So you were tattooed?"

She reluctantly nods and winces as she shifts her right arm and with the remaining fingers of her left hand she pushes up the sling to reveal the tattoo across her wrist. A series of numbers etched in blue ink.

"The first two numbers indicate what region we were assigned to. The next two was what camps. The last pair was what field."

"What would happen if someone got assigned a different field or camp? Tattoos can't be changed." Bristol asks in confusion.

Kisa looks uncomfortable, but answers, "No one ever changed assignment."

Arching a pale red brow, but choosing to leave it alone, Bristol states, "I heard a rumor that one of the princes of the royal family is slated to reestablish the monarchy now that Azambra has been liberated."

Kisa shakes her head. "Most of the royal family was murdered when the youngest prince returned from exile and with support from the People's Army instigated a coup. It wasn't long afterward that the People's Army deemed his usefulness at an end and he was among the first sent for reeducation."

Bristol cocks his head, asking, "Wasn't 'reeducation' the misleading term for torture and death?"

"Yes," she grimly nods. "It meant a person was being sent to one of the torture centers. The prince was likely sent to S-21."

"S-21?"

"It was the nickname for Security Prison 21," she explains. "It was located in the large provincial city Foradada."

"It rings a bell, but I can't place the significance."

Kisa's voice drops lower. "Getting sent there was a guaranteed death sentence. It's surrounded by some of the largest killing fields."

"Killing fields?" Grumman asks, interrupting for the first time.

Kisa nods slowly. "Unless they were lucky, people rarely died from torture because confessions can't be forced from the dead. Once confessions were recorded some of the prisoners would be marched out to the fields then handed shovels and ordered to dig a hole. Most were too weak to dig very deep, so the cadres would kill them as they stood in their freshly dug graves."

Grumman blinks in shock. "They would shoot them right there?"

Kisa shakes her head. "At first the prisoners were shot. Later, to save bullets, the cadres used whatever tools they had on hand to hit them in the back of the head until they fell. If a prisoner were lucky they'd get a sledgehammer and a cadre with enough strength to kill with one blow. There were rumors that some still didn't die when they fell, but the cadres would bury them anyway before returning to duty."

Bristol breaks the stunned silence, asking, "And these killing fields are near the torture prisons?"

"Within walking distance."

"That should make it easier for the war crimes tribunal to search for bodies and gather evidence," Bristol muses.

"All they have to do is walk through the fields after a heavy rain," Kisa explains. "I heard it's not uncommon to see bones sticking out from the soil or teeth scattered across the ground."

Grumman breaks the uncomfortable silence, saying, "That's enough. It's clear the young lady is exhausted and we can satisfy our curiosity another day."

"My apologizes." Bristol bows to Kisa with his hands clasped at chest level according to Azambran custom. "Perhaps another day it would be possible to ask more questions regarding the occupation?"

Kisa looks hesitant before reluctantly agreeing, "All right."

Grumman smiles at her. "Thank you for humoring us, Miss Namikaze. I know Dr. Knox is busting at the seams to get you back to your room and rest. Don't worry, we've satisfied our curiosity."

Kisa nods as Dr. Knox wastes no time in wheeling her out with Riza trailing right behind them.

Bristol comments, "That was telling."

"Proves that girl is a spy," Hakuro agrees.

"That's not what I meant," Bristol drolly replies as he returns to his seat.

Before Hakuro can retort, Grumman turns to Douglas. "Any comments?"

"Yes, sir," Douglas nods. "Miss Namikaze's statement regarding the Lt. Colonel's comment matches perfectly his own admission and witness accounts. The Lt. Col. made that comment near the mess and there were plenty of witnesses."

"Was there any evidence to support the suspicion of her being a spy?"

"No, sir. There was not enough probable cause in my opinion to warrant an arrest."

"Thank you, Col. Douglas. You are dismissed to continue your investigation into the matter," Grumman states.

After Douglas salutes and leaves, Grumman turns to Miles. "Does your opinion of Miss Namikaze remain unchanged?"

"It does, sir. I do not consider her a threat in any way to Amestris."

"Thank you, Col. Miles. Please return to your duties."

After Miles salutes and exits, Grumman returns to his seat at the table and asks, "Is Miss Namikaze who she says she is, Gen. Bristol?"

Bristol nods and before he can present his report, Hakuro snaps, "How is Bristol an expert on whether this girl is a spy or not?"

Grumman clasps both hands together and rests them on the table. Leaning in, he bores into Hakuro's eyes.

"There has been no proof presented that Kisa Namikaze is a spy. Bristol's opinion on the matter is important as I just appointed him to head the newly formed Azambra Affairs division. Bristol approached me with the idea of not only assisting Azambran authorities with tracking down and arresting war criminals, but also in gathering evidence for trial. That also entails interviewing every Azambran refugee for their testimonials that would likely provide additional evidence. Also, such testimonials would be worthy archival materials. It would help polish up Amestris' tarnished image."

When he finishes his explanation, Grumman nods to Bristol to begin his report.

"Everything Kisa shared with us is consistent with what we've learned so far," he explains. "There is no way that someone who did not experience the occupation would know all those details, especially S-21. The killing fields are widely known, but S-21 is not."

Another general comments, "It sounds like a horrible place."

Bristol gravely nods. "My staff has been referring to it as the Devil's Funhouse. What Miss Namikaze described doesn't even scratch the surface." Looking back at Grumman, he adds, "I also believe she is a torture survivor."

"The missing fingers?"

"Yes." Turning to Maes, he asks, "Am I correct in assuming she will be staying with you?"

"Kisa is moving in with my family," Maes answers.

"My apologies then for not approaching you first about talking to her again. However, there are a couple of questions I'd like to ask you after the meeting."

"Certainly," Maes agrees.

"Based on expert opinions, Kisa Namikaze is exonerated of any and all suspicion of espionage." Grumman pins Hakuro with his gaze, adding, "The matter ends here. You are to refrain from searching for further proof or harassing that girl further. As it is, you're already under investigation for misconduct. Do not compound your precarious situation further, is that understood?"

Hakuro looks like he'll protest before reluctantly agreeing, "Yes, sir."

Grumman leans back in his chair with a smile. "Good. Now let's get this boring meeting over with."

Knowing grins and murmured assents erupt around the table.

An hour later the meeting concludes much to the relief of the participants.

"Now that we've got that all taken care of, I am happy to say that nearly all of you are dismissed," Grumman grins to his generals. "I'd like for General Hughes, Mustang and Bristol to remain, if they would. Thank you to everyone else."

It takes a few minutes before the other generals filter out of the room, leaving Grumman alone with Roy, Maes and Alistair.

Grumman shrewdly eyes Bristol. "Am I correct in deducing that you wanted to talk to Maes regarding your division?"

"Yes, sir," Bristol nods. "But why did you include Mustang?"

Grumman shrugs. "Roy would just find out later from Maes anyway." The four men share a laugh before he continues, "Actually, I wanted to make Roy and Maes aware that you know more about the truth surrounding the Promised Day than anyone realizes." Turning to a stunned Maes, he explains, "Not that you were keeping it a secret, but it certainly grabbed my attention when you agreed to sponsor young Kisa's immigration to Amestris. I recalled her name in your report from the two months you spent in Azambra. It also didn't hurt that Roy shamelessly came to me to see what I could do to speed the process along," he smirks.

"I knew it," Maes declares while throwing a smug grin at Roy.

"Still don't know what you're talking about, Hughes," Roy replies indifferently, occupying himself by shuffling his papers.

"Well, Alistair approached me with the idea of the Azambra Affairs division around the same time," Grumman explains, interrupting before Maes can retort. "He already knew the truth behind the Promised Day excepting Maes' involvement. Like the two of you, Alistair is a crack investigator and did a lot of digging through the history of Amestris to create a very accurate timeline of the homunculi and their activities. His forte is examining documents and deciphering their true meaning. He uncovered a lot of laws, expenditures, etc. that were constructed for the benefit of the homunculi under the guise of official military business."

Grumman leans back in his chair and continues, "When I became aware of Maes' sponsorship of Kisa's immigration I decided to share with Alistair the real reason Maes' death was faked. Because of his Azambran ancestry he developed an interest in Kisa and helped guide her paperwork faster through the immigration process."

Maes blinks in shock before asking Alistair, "You got her here faster?"

"I thought it was the least I could do for someone who risked her life saving one of our own in enemy territory," the redhead shrugs.

Grumman cuts off any reply to add, "Since Alistair is an expert in research and statistics, he's the perfect choice to lead the Azambra Affairs division. After everything surrounding the Promised Day, I'm not willing to take any chances there isn't more hidden under the guise of a poorly executed revolution."

"Which is a distinct possibility," Roy agrees.

"I'm still setting up my division," Alistair explains to Maes. "The reason I wanted to speak to you is because Kisa intrigues me. Her ability to remember conversations verbatim and directions is incredible and I would like to hire her for my division."

Grumman joins Roy and Maes in staring in surprise.

"You don't know that much about her," Roy points out. "How do you know whether she's capable, emotional or otherwise, to handle the position of a researcher?"

"I gleaned a lot from our brief meeting," Alistair replies. "She's a survivor. Clearly she's endured hells only veterans of Ishval can relate to. However, she's not the typical Azambran. She traveled alone, with no family, to start over in a foreign country. That's unheard of going by the typically rigid standards of Azambran custom. Normally, the only way a girl her age would relocate to another country is by marriage, either to a foreigner or if she immigrates with her husband. Her actions indicate she's shucked tradition and is willing to work instead of being supported by or working alongside her husband."

Shifting in his seat, the redhead continues his explanation, "She has an unassuming presence. As the Fuhrer mentioned, one of our goals is to gather testimonials from refugees. Even though I can connect to refugees through my mother, they won't be as comfortable as they would speaking with another Azambran. I've been combing through the files of incoming refugees for potential recruits, but I didn't consider recruiting Kisa because of the cultural stigma against working women."

"As the Fuhrer also mentioned," he continues, inclining his head toward Grumman. "I was allowed to read Maes' report on his time in Azambra and how it resulted in their liberation. I recall in the report that Kisa and her brother addressed Maes as uncle. That means they held him in great respect and if she will be living with him as his ward, she'll see him as an authority figure. So if he doesn't approve of her working in my division, she won't even consider it."

Maes sighs wearily, "I don't have a problem with it if she's willing, but I'm worried about her mental health. Talking to other refugees about their experiences could prove strenuous."

"I've been interviewing therapists and counselors to work with the refugees," Alistair explains. "That was one of the projects that got approved for funding today. So Kisa will have access to those therapists and counselors."

"Only if Kisa wants to do it," Maes agrees. "Would you like me to approach her with the idea? Right now she's recovering from her injuries, so it may not be a good time to offer her the position."

Alistair considers it before nodding, "That's probably the best and least intimidating option for her. I must say I'm glad that you're Kisa's de facto guardian." At the three men's puzzled expressions he explains, "If she were living on her own in the tenements or living with another family, her lack of male kinsmen would make her a target. As it is, she's probably dealing with the social stigma of not being married yet."

"You commented on Kisa bucking custom by immigrating alone, otherwise she'd have been married. She's only fifteen, isn't that a little young for her to be married?" Roy asks.

Arching a brow Alistair stuns the other men by pointing out, "The typical age for an Azambran girl to marry is thirteen. Although, the groom can be any age, it's considered unseemly if a girl isn't married by Kisa's age."

Maes snaps, "There is no way in hell she is mature enough to be married yet!"

"Azambrans don't care what anyone else thinks," the redhead shrugs. "Besides, with her unmarried, she's at risk for rape or abuse from men who'd take advantage of her lack of family." His gaze becomes pointed, "So it's a damn good thing she's living with you because you can act in the capacity of her father. Plus, being Amestrian the refugees aren't as likely to hold it against her that she isn't married yet. They'll acknowledge that you don't understand their customs. However, they'll begrudge you for ruining her marital prospects. They consider the longer a woman remains unmarried; the less likely she'll find a husband."

Grumman shakes his head, "Nothing is ever simple, is it?"

"It'd be boring if it were," Roy quips, causing them to laugh.

"That should take care of everything," Grumman states. "You're free to go home early, gentlemen." Turning to Maes, he adds, "I understand any dislocated limb requires therapy. Kisa is authorized to use the physical therapy program. It'll come out of Hakuro's pocket, even if he doesn't know it yet."

"Thank you, sir," Maes laughs, rising to his feet along with the other two and salutes Grumman as he leaves them alone.

Alistair takes turns shaking Roy and Maes' hands. "Even if Kisa doesn't accept my job offer, I would like to sit down and talk to her when she's feeling up to it. I may even bring my mother along to visit."

"Your mother?" Roy asks, arching a brow.

The redhead sighs and rolls his eyes. "As it is my father and I will be hunting her down in the tenements. There are so few Azambrans in Amestris right now that she'll go out of her way to meet all the newcomers. And once she hears about Kisa, I'm sure she'll be pestering me to arrange a meeting."

"That's fine," Maes chuckles. "I'm sure Kisa would benefit from talking to a former Azambran who's lived in Amestris for awhile. Might help her adapt."

Alistair nods. "I'll call you later in the week to check on Kisa. I'm not in a hurry for her answer; I've got plenty to keep me busy."

He salutes before leaving Roy and Maes alone in the boardroom.

The two friends gather up their documents and leave the boardroom in silence.

"Hakuro's idiocy aside," Maes sighs heavily, "it seems that Kisa's immigration was destined to be more complicated than simply starting over in Amestris no matter how careful I was."

"It sounds like you're got another ally in looking out for Kisa's best interests in Bristol," Roy muses. "It'll help that he also has a very good understanding of Azambran customs."

"Agreed," Maes nods. "Although I learned a lot while recuperating under the twins' care, I didn't know anything about their marriage customs. I can't believe they insist on the girl's marrying so young."

"All the more reason to remain friendly with Bristol," Roy points out. "Kisa may have seemed open with you back then, but she's older now and a lot has happened since. You may need the extra info from him as guidance when dealing with her."

"True. As it is, it's mid-afternoon and I barely saw Kisa since she arrived. I haven't even said one word to her."

"Were you planning on making Kisa your ward this whole time?"

"Yes," Maes nods. "Gracia made the suggestion, citing it was the least we could do for her. I don't doubt that Kyo is dead. It'd be the only way those two would ever separate. I can't repay Kyo, but I can take care of his sister. I doubt I can begin to imagine what she has gone through, but it's obvious she has suffered a lot without Hakuro's contribution to her current condition."

Stopping at another juncture in the hallway, Roy states, "It sounds like you have your work cut out for you. So you better hurry and get Kisa home or you'll get an earful from both Gracia and Elicia."

"That's true," Maes laughs. "We may be having a small dinner party later on to introduce Kisa to everyone." His expression darkens, "I'm sure as hell not going to risk her at Central Command until things calm down more with Hakuro."

"Good idea," Roy nods. "Obviously the fact she looks like Fullmetal hasn't been going over too well."

"No, it hasn't," he rolls his eyes. "I better get her home."

He waves to Roy while turning to walk in the opposite direction.

It didn't take Maes long to reach the medical wing. Turning a corner, he spies just the person he wished to speak with.

"Dr. Knox," he greets when he sees the young doctor at the nurses station. "I'm glad I caught you. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Certainly, general, let's step out of the way so we can talk uninterrupted."

Maes lets Knox usher him off to the side.

"Kisa was sleeping when I checked on her a little while ago, but she can leave whenever she's ready." Gesturing over Maes' shoulder he adds, "You'll find her in a room two doors down that way."

"Glad to hear it," Maes nods. "The Fuhrer authorized her physical therapy to be done here and it will be paid for out of Hakuro's pocket."

"Hakuro owes her a lot more, but it's a start," Knox smirks. "Since the Fuhrer is allowing her to be treated in military facilities I can do her follow up. Bring her back in a week so I see how she's doing and give her a complete physical. I'll order some blood work and go over the results with a dietician so we can devise a plan to help her recover from the malnutrition. I'll also have our orthopedic doctor look at her hand."

"Isn't that going a bit overboard?" he asks incredulously. "Those are preexisting conditions."

Knox shrugs and walks away, stating over his shoulder, "It's not like Hakuro will know the difference. I'll just slip it into his bill."

Maes laughs before heading to Kisa's room. Stepping quietly into the room he sees she's fast asleep.

"Hey, Riza," he quietly greets while gesturing for her to step outside. When she joins him, he asks, "Did everything go okay once you guys left the boardroom?"

"Yes," Riza nods. "Kisa was exhausted by the time we returned to her room. She still seemed very tense during the entire ride back."

"I don't blame her," he muses, rubbing his beard thoughtfully. "It must've been nerve wracking to be summoned before the Fuhrer like that."

"She tends to be very closed off and quiet doesn't she?" she asks out of curiosity.

"It was the biggest complaint her brother had."

"Brother?" Riza asks in confusion.

Maes blinks at her before chuckling. "Sorry about that. I forgot I only told Roy beforehand about Kisa."

It takes him a few minutes to give Riza a brief background on Kisa.

When he finishes, a stunned Riza asks, "So Kisa and Kyo are identical to Ed and Al?"

"Definitely. I didn't learn about Kyo and Al's resemblance until I got back to Central after the Promised Day. By then Al was no longer a suit of armor."

"That must've been a surprise."

"You have no idea," he chuckles.

"Why didn't you ever mention Kisa and her brother before?"

"It never came up," Maes shrugs. "I met them when Roy hid me in the southeast. There's a lot that went on during that time you don't know about."

He spends a few more minutes briefly recounting what happened in Azambra.

When he finishes, he states, "I'll gladly give you the specific details later when I have more time or you can bug Roy for them. Suffice it to say, there was too much going on when I came back that I never really had the chance to share that story. I didn't tell Roy until a couple months ago when I received a letter from the Immigration & Naturalization division informing me that Kisa applied for citizenship in Amestris and asked me to be her sponsor."

"So that's why Roy had us going over immigration laws and badgering I&N," Riza muses.

"Exactly," Maes grins. "And thank you for that, by the way. I appreciate the effort in getting Kisa here as quickly as possible."

"Now knowing the reason why we were going through all that trouble, I'm glad we did it," Riza smiles. "And far more significant than I thought especially since we have Kisa to thank for saving you a second time and didn't even know it."

Maes smiles softly and nods. "Although I'm still really pissed at Hakuro for pulling this shit on Kisa, I'm so grateful she's finally in Central. It's been hard looking at Elicia and remembering the two kids I left behind in Azambra."

Crossing her arms, Riza admits, "It was hard listening to Kisa's description of Azambra in the boardroom even though that's obviously not a quarter of the story. I thought Ishval was hell, but it sounds tame compared to Azambra."

Maes closes his eyes briefly. "Words don't even do it justice. I can tell you more about it later, but I'd like to get Kisa home before Gracia skins me alive. Thanks for sitting with her."

"It was no trouble," she waves it off. "I enjoyed talking to her when she was awake."

Maes smiles warmly before a thought occurs to him. "Oh, one other thing I almost forgot to mention. We may have a small dinner party soon. I want to introduce Kisa to some of my friends and comrades. As soon as Gracia and I get organized, I'll let you know."

"I'll be there," Riza smiles before saluting and leaving him alone in the hallway.

Maes steps back into the room and watches Kisa sleep. Old memories flood his senses before he shakes them off with a soft, sad smile. Walking over to her bedside, he reaches out and starts gently pulling the covers higher up for her.

A soft grunt stills all movement. Her eye slowly opens to look up into Maes' smiling face.

"I'd ask how you're feeling, but I've got it on good authority that you've had better days."

He's rewarded by a soft smile. He helps her when she starts shifting into a sitting position.

Once she's settled comfortably, he perches on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm sorry, Uncle," she softly apologizes, her eye dropping to her lap. "I never imagined coming here would cause you so many problems."

Maes reaches out and lifts her chin. "It's been two years since we've seen each other and the first thing you do is apologize for something you're not responsible for? What? No, 'Hi, Uncle, how've you been? You got a little soft around the middle?'"

Kisa stares in shock for a moment before smiling softly as her eye tear up.

"That's more like it," Maes smiles, gently pulling her into a hug.

He feels her shaking and listens to her ragged breaths as she struggles to maintain control while wrapping her good arm around him.

He lightly strokes her hair and back, saying, "I was starting to think you didn't like me anymore or that I smelled bad."

Kisa snorts into his chest, "Now you're being silly." Before he can reply, she adds, "I'm so happy to see you're healthy and well."

Maes tightens his hold. "Thanks to you and Kyo." When he feels her tense, he quietly asks, "He's dead, isn't he?"

Instead of answering, she nods.

Maes sighs heavily. "We don't have to talk about it now, but I'd like to know what happened to him when you're ready."

Taking a shaky breath she says, "I just can't talk about it right now, but I will tell you." After a few moments of silence she adds, "It's ironic that when we first met you had a bullet in your right shoulder and shrapnel in your left side. Now we meet again and I'm injured in my right shoulder, side and hip. Guess it's my turn. I'm so sorry to be a burden on you."

Maes can't resist laughing as he rests his cheek against the top of her head. "You topped me, but you'd never be a burden. I'm so sorry for what happened today. It was not the sort of welcome I had in mind for you."

"It isn't your fault," Kisa quietly replies.

"It isn't yours either. So, instead of wasting time blaming ourselves, how about I take you home? Gracia and Elicia are eager to meet you."

Kisa pulls back and looks at him apprehensively. "Is it okay? I'm a complete stranger."

"They'd be upset if I don't bring you home," he smiles reassuringly. "They want to meet the girl who saved my ass."

Still looking reluctant, she sighs, "Okay, but I'll need a nurse to help me change out of this hospital gown."

Maes chuckles, "I saw more than what was proper when we were in Azambra and I'm more than happy not to repeat that scenario."

Kisa blushes as he eases her back into the pillows before leaving to retrieve a nurse.

* * *

_**A/N**__: Finally! Another chapter. This is a little early, but not by much: to all those who celebrate, Happy 4th of July!_

_Please feel free to review if you're so inclined._


	6. Chapter 6

Maes patiently waits while a nurse helps Kisa change into a clean set of clothes. In the meantime he calls Sheska at his office and informs her he's leaving early and giving her his instructions for the rest of the day. After hanging up with her, he calls Gracia to let her know what's going on before spending the rest of the time filling out the discharge papers at the nurses station and reading through the written instructions on how to take care of Kisa's injuries at home, how to administer her medication and dietary suggestions.

"General Hughes?"

Maes looks over and sees the nurse who helped Kisa change standing off to the side.

"She's all ready to go," the pretty blonde smiles. "An orderly will be along shortly to help her out."

"Thank you," Maes replies as the nurse walks off.

He shuffles all the documents, including prescriptions for a pain medication and ointment for her wound together and slips them into his briefcase. He then walks back into Kisa's room to see her dressed and waiting in a wheelchair next to the hospital bed.

"Are you all set to get out of this nuthouse?" he asks, settling onto the bed in front of her.

"Yes, Uncle. I think I've had more than enough excitement and adventure today," the blonde teen smiles warmly as he laughs uproariously.

Calming down Maes smiles fondly, "I'm glad you're not letting what happened upset you."

"I might've been more upset and scared if I didn't know the reasons why I got arrested," she shrugs her left shoulder. "Another difference between here and Azambra is that someone tried stopping my arrest and did what they could to get me out of it without worrying about getting arrested themselves."

"Maria and Denny still feel guilty for not being able to stop Major Bison and Lt. Col. Arjun," he reasons.

"They shouldn't," she points out firmly. "They did a lot more than I expected because we both know I wouldn't have received that much help in Azambra."

"True," Maes agrees as an orderly enters the room.

"I understand there's a young lady who needs a lift?" the stocky brunet asks with a smile.

Maes quips to Kisa, "Your ride is here. Let's go."

Kisa nods as the orderly steps behind her chair and begins pushing, keeping her level with Maes while they head out to the parking lot as they chat. It takes a few minutes for both Maes and the orderly to ease her out of the chair and into the front left passenger seat. Kisa does her best not to show any discomfort, but Maes can tell all the movement is hurting her.

Once she's settled the orderly helps Maes load the wheelchair into the back of the car, tying it down since the trunk lid can't close with it sticking out. When they finish Maes thanks the orderly before getting behind the wheel.

"We'll be home soon where you'll be more comfortable and it'll stop hurting so much," he assures her.

She only nods again as he starts the car and pulls out of the parking space.

It's a quiet car ride through the overcast streets of Central. Kisa looks out the window with interest, but it isn't the same eagerness she had as that morning. Maes senses her tension, but chooses to give her time to gather her thoughts and prepare to meet his family for the first time. No amount of reassuring on his part is going to ease her apprehension.

Several minutes later he guides the car to a stop in front of the house. Exiting the driver's side, he glances up to his front door and smiles and waves at Gracia and Elicia standing just inside the doorway. Both return the wave as he comes around to the passenger side and opens the door to carefully lift Kisa out. She can't help softly grunting in pain.

As he carries her up the front steps, Gracia informs him, "The upstairs bedroom next to Elicia's is ready if you want to take her directly in there."

"Thanks, honey," he replies as he steps past her.

He carries Kisa across the small foyer to the stairs leading to the second floor. Reaching the top landing he crosses the short expanse and veers off slightly to his right into a bedroom in the center of the hallway.

A full size bed is situated next to a window across the room facing the doorway. A nightstand sits directly under the window and has a small lamp perched on top. Near the window is a wingback chair angled so the occupant can see out the window. Across the room on the other side of the bed is a double door armoire with drawers.

Elicia and Gracia quietly followed them and stand off to the side while Maes gently settles Kisa on the bed. He chose the side of the bed that would leave her uninjured left side closest to the edge. Taking a few moments, he adjusts the pillows for her to comfortably lean against before covering her with a throw.

Stepping back he grins at the blonde smiling shyly at his family.

"In case you haven't figured it out, the taller lady is my wife Gracia and the shorter, mirror image is our daughter Elicia."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kisa Namikaze," Kisa greets formally. She attempts to greet them traditionally with a bow, causing her to grunt and wince in pain.

Maes rolls his eyes with a sigh and reaches out to push her back into the pillows.

"It's okay if you don't follow custom right now," he admonishes gently.

"Sorry, it's habit," she sheepishly pants out.

Leaving her mother's side, Elicia climbs onto the unoccupied side of the bed. Kneeling next to Kisa's hip she leans in to closely study the older girl's face with her index finger pressed to her chin in thought.

Baffled, Kisa's forehead crinkles incredulously at the little girl who straightens up to sit on her heels, proclaiming, "Daddy's right. You look just like little big brother."

Arching a brow, Kisa asks, "Little big brother?"

"That's what Elicia calls Ed," Maes grins.

"He doesn't like being called 'little,'" Elicia giggles. "It makes him mad. It's funny to see him get mad."

Maes laughs, saying, "On that note, I've got to go to the drug store to pick up Kisa's prescriptions. Do you want to go with me, Elicia?"

"Yeah," Elicia excitedly agrees and giggles madly when he reaches over and sweeps her off the bed by the waist, carrying her out like a bundle under his arm.

Gracia smiles fondly after them. Turning back, she asks, "Would you like to change into something more comfortable, Kisa? Maes already explained to me the doctor's orders and I think you might rest better in looser clothing."

Kisa nods shyly, "I may have something in my bag. I can get it out when Uncle returns."

"You need something even looser," Gracia waves it off while walking across the room to the dresser. "I pulled out one of Maes' old shirts if that's all right. It should be long enough to double as a short nightgown."

"You're all doing too much. You shouldn't go out of your way for me," Kisa hesitantly protests in a soft voice.

Stepping around the corner of the bed, Gracia returns with a dark blue, long sleeved cotton shirt. Perching on the edge of the bed near Kisa's hip, she smiles fondly at teen.

"It isn't going out of our way," Gracia gently insists. "It's the least we can do for what you and your brother did for Maes."

Unable to hold Gracia's gaze, Kisa's eye drops to her hand resting in her lap.

Gracia sighs. "Kisa? Please look at me." When Kisa finally raises her eye hesitantly the older woman smiles, saying, "You have no idea how much you've given our family."

Kisa's eye drift down again as she replies, "Kyo and I remembered what it was like when our father was taken away. We didn't want anyone else to feel that."

Gracia gently takes Kisa's left hand into hers, causing the girl to look at her again.

"Thank you," she intones sincerely. "You and your brother gave my family a very precious gift. We'd be honored if you'd accept our gratitude."

Kisa blushes and nods as Gracia reaches up and fondly brushes her bangs. "Your resemblance to Edward is uncanny," she comments. Changing the subject she asks, "Would you like some help changing and then try eating afterward?"

"Yes, please," the young blonde nods. "I need help because of my arm, but I don't feel like eating, Aunt."

A pleased smile spreads across Gracia's lips. "I'm honored you'd address me as 'aunt.'"

"You honor me by accepting me into your home and taking care of me," Kisa explains sincerely.

Nodding, Gracia gets back on subject, asking, "Why don't you feel like eating? Did you eat a late lunch?"

"No," Kisa shakes her head. "But everything hurts so much that I don't feel like eating."

Green eyes gazes deeply into gold as Gracia states, "You really should eat something, Kisa, especially with the pain medication you'll have to take."

Kisa opens her mouth to argue, but closes it to consider Gracia's words before reluctantly nodding.

"Don't worry. I made a light soup so it won't sit heavy in your stomach."

"Thank you," Kisa smiles softly.

"Let's get you changed then I'll warm up the soup for you," Gracia states while getting up to close the bedroom door and give Kisa some more privacy in case Maes returns early.

By the time her husband and daughter return home, Gracia has served Kisa the chicken soup she made and the girl is sound asleep.

Having settled in the sitting room downstairs, Gracia is reading when Maes burst through the front door with Elicia perched in a wheelchair. He makes 'vrooming' noises and repeatedly pops wheelies while Elicia squeals in delight.

Rising from her seat, Gracia moves to stand in the doorway to the foyer with her arms crossed watching her husband tear up and down the hallway.

Maes 'screeches' to a halt in front of her long enough to say, "Hi, honey!"

"Hi, mommy!" Elicia chirps while Maes gives Gracia a quick kiss before whirling the chair around to roar up the hallway again.

Shaking her head she walks over to close the front door and heads into the sitting room, following another route to go into the kitchen at back of the house to start dinner.

Several minutes later Elicia runs into the room with a bouquet of flowers.

"We got Kisa something to help her feel better!" the little girl declares excitedly as she makes a beeline to her mother to show off the flowers.

After wiping her hands on her apron Gracia takes the bouquet and examines the mixture of purple Dendrobium orchids, yellow Oncidium orchids and fiery pink Ginger flowers.

"Orchids?" She looks over questioningly at Maes. "They're rather exotic. Why not roses? I'm sure Kisa would appreciate the thought regardless."

Reaching into an upper cabinet for a vase Maes then walks over to the sink to fill it with water.

"The flower shop just started receiving them. They're imported from Azambra," he explains, setting the partially filled vase on the counter next to the sink. "I thought she'd like a little reminder of her homeland."

"Take these over to your father," Gracia instructs Elicia, handing her the bouquet. As the littler girl eagerly takes them to Maes, Gracia adds, "Kisa will probably love them. I can't begin to imagine how hard it must be for her to start over in a country so different from her own."

"Elicia, please hand me a pair of scissors from the utility drawer," Maes instructs after taking the flowers from her.

Elicia does as instructed, carefully handing him the handle of the scissors.

"Thanks, baby," he smiles before leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

After unwrapping the flowers, he snips the ends before placing them in the vase. Elicia returns to her mother's side to help finish prepping the ingredients for a salad while Maes begins speaking again.

"I agree. I can't imagine losing everything and starting over in a foreign land either. I couldn't find a parking spot closer to the drug store, so we had to walk past a flower stand. I was surprised when I saw the orchids and asked the florist about them. The man said they hadn't been able to order the flowers for years, but since Azambra has been liberated he was finally able to contact his old wholesaler and start ordering some. Took all this time, but now he's receiving regular shipments."

Pausing, he gathers up the snipped stem pieces and carries them over to the waste bin by the door leading to the washroom.

"I think it's a good sign to see Azambran goods returning to the markets," Maes continues, returning to finish arranging the flowers. "So it seemed fitting for Kisa and something she'd probably like."

"They're really pretty too!" Elicia eagerly chimes in.

Gracia and Maes laugh.

"Yes, honey, they are," Gracia agrees.

Setting the large bowl with the salad aside, she moves over to the oven to peek in on the chicken she's got baking. Reaching for a spoon, she bastes it before closing the oven door.

Changing the subject, Maes asks, "Is Kisa settled in?"

"Yes," Gracia nods.

Moving to a cabinet she begins taking out the glasses before reaching into the refrigerator and pouring ice tea into them.

Continuing, she explains, "Kisa ate a bowl of soup and stayed awake long enough to apply icepacks to her injuries to help with the swelling. I sat with her chatting until it was time to remove them. Afterward she settled back and fell asleep. I checked on her before you returned and she was still asleep."

"Good," Maes replies, gathering the cutlery together and linen napkins. "We got her prescription and I brought that and her bag in with the wheelchair. She was medicated when she was discharged and isn't due for another dose for two more hours."

"She mentioned her bag earlier, so I'm glad you remembered to bring it in from the car. I thought of waking her to apply the icepacks again, but her swelling didn't appear so bad earlier. She seems so exhausted that I chose to let her sleep."

"Just the trip alone is exhausting enough," Maes muses. "Since dinner is almost ready, I'm going to check on her. I'll take the flowers and medication with me while I'm at it."

"All right, dear."

Maes leaves the kitchen and heads upstairs to Kisa's room. Easing the door open he steps inside the heavily shadowed room. The diffused light from the weak late afternoon sun struggling to burn through the sometimes thin cloud cover gives him enough light to visually examine her without having to disturb her by turning on the lamp.

She's partially elevated on pillows to ease her breathing, but there's still a noticeable hitch with every breath. Quietly he walks over to the nightstand to arrange the vase on top and place the medication next to it. Stepping back he watches her, grinning that Gracia put her in one of his old shirts. She's swimming in the material and it reminds him of how painfully thin she felt in his arms when he carried her into the house. He admits to himself that she obviously had gained quite a bit of weight since he last saw her in Azambra, remembering how frail and bony she and Kyo looked. It's certainly going to take some time and effort to get her back to a healthy weight.

He muses that despite the bandages she looks so much more like a little girl in the oversized shirt. His smile turns soft and sad as he wonders if there is still a chance for her to reclaim some of the childhood she lost. Shaking off those thoughts, he quietly leaves the room and gently shuts the door behind him before heading back downstairs.

Naturally the conversation during dinner focuses entirely on Kisa after Maes briefly recounts his day to his family.

When he finishes, Elicia asks, "How did Kisa get so hurt?"

"There was an accident at work and Kisa got caught in it. It's really complicated and we're still trying to figure out what happened," he lies, knowing it'd be too difficult to explain Hakuro's actions in a way the little girl would understand.

"It's a shame Kisa has to spend her first weeks in Central recuperating," Gracia offers as a distraction to keep Elicia from focusing on learning specifically what happened. "Instead of being able to go out and explore her new home and learning about it, she's stuck inside."

"It might not be so bad, honey," Maes replies. "Kisa hasn't really had time to accept and process everything that's going on. Life in a refugee camp is pretty chaotic. Well," he muses thoughtfully, "life for her has been chaotic for a long time. Now she's somewhere foreign and may need some down time to deal with it."

"But Kisa has a wheelchair; can't we take her out in that?" Elicia asks.

"It helps," he smiles. "But if mommy is shopping, she'll have her hands full carrying things. That'll make it hard to push Kisa in her wheelchair and she can't even use her right arm to push it herself."

Elicia cocks her head in thought before declaring, "I'll be Kisa's right arm until it gets better. If she drops something, I can pick it up for her."

"Kisa will appreciate that," Gracia smiles proudly, causing the little girl to grin.

"Kisa will likely hold off on asking for any sort of help for as long as she can," Maes informs Gracia. "She told me earlier that she doesn't want to be a burden to us."

Gracia nods. "I understand. She protested earlier that we're doing too much for her. So we're just going to have to make sure she has everything she needs."

"Definitely," Maes states determinedly.

After dinner and clean up, Gracia gives Elicia a bath while Maes heads into Kisa's room to check on her. It took some effort for her to wake up enough to blink at him blearily with one eye.

Helping her ease more into a sitting position, he asks, "How're you feeling?"

"Not too bad, Uncle," she replies honestly, her husky voice still thick with sleep. "I still feel stiff and achy and my head still hurts a little."

"Let me take a peek under the bandage," he murmurs, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her while gently lifting the edge of the wrap.

"Damn," he hisses. "Your left eye is nearly swollen shut. I can't even see enough to tell if the stitches are okay. I'll have to remove the whole thing in order to check." Dropping his hand from the bandage he sighs, "It's probably just as well that I change it out for a clean one."

Kisa nods as he retrieves the first aid kit he placed on top of the trunk. While he works he asks her several basic questions like if she recalls what day it is, where she is and is relieved when she answers each correctly.

Having removed the wrappings completely, he carefully peels off the compress, causing her to wince since it stuck slightly to the wound.

"Sorry about that," he apologizes. She doesn't answer since he's gently grasping her chin to turn her head so the light will give him a better look.

"The stitches are fine despite the swelling," he murmurs in a pleased tone.

As he gets up to throw the bandage away Kisa spies the vase on the nightstand.

Staring in disbelief she mutters softly, "Those are Cooktown and Dancing Lady orchids and Ginger flowers! H-how?" her voice stumbles in confusion. "As far as I know those flowers only grow in Azambra."

Maes smiles as he returns to sit next to her on the edge of the bed and opens the first aid kit.

"They still do only grow in Azambra," he explains, taking out what he needs. "Elicia wanted to get you flowers to cheer you up and I saw them at the florist. I hadn't seen them in years and the florist said he's been able to get them again since Azambra has been liberated. I thought they'd mean more to you than roses."

Kisa stares at the bouquet, her expression passive, but Maes can see the swirl of emotions raging in her eyes. The flowers mean more to her than a simple, sweet gesture.

Finally she softly states, "Thank you."

He grins, saying, "You're welcome, but you may not be thanking me in a moment."

With a swab he gently applies the ointment to aid healing and minimize scarring. While he works, he asks, "Are you feeling nauseas?"

"No," she answers. Hesitantly she adds, "But I do need to go to the bathroom."

Having just flicked the used swab into a wastebasket nearby, Maes pauses to turn back to her and incredulously gape. "You and Kyo used to have to help me piss and crap in an old saucepan. Now you're going to be bashful about asking to use the toilet?"

Kisa huffs indignantly, "It's different now. We didn't have a choice about the situation back then."

Maes shakes his head while reaching up to place another compress over the wound. Gently grasping her left wrist, he guides her hand to briefly hold it in place before starting to wind gauze around her head.

"It's a lot easier if you just say what you need and stop worrying about burdening us," he gently chides while he works. "Charades is fun, but I doubt your bladder and bowels will appreciate the time it'd take to guess you need to visit the bathroom."

"Uncle!" Kisa snaps scandalized.

"It's true," he shrugs, nonchalantly. Securing the end of the wrap, he pauses to assess his work.

His gaze drifts down to a still flushed Kisa. "I'll wheel you down to the bathroom. When you're back in bed do you feel like trying to eat a little more soup since you missed lunch?"

Kisa considers it. "Probably."

"Good," he nods.

Rising to his feet he heads downstairs to retrieve the wheelchair from the sitting room. It's too awkward for him to carry it, so he carefully drags it backwards up the stairs. Once it's on the landing, he wheels the chair inside her room and over to the bed to transfer her into it before taking her to the bathroom.

He does help her onto the toilet, avoiding looking anywhere inappropriate as much as possible before leaving briefly to switch places with Gracia so she can help Kisa if she needs it. Elicia is still splashing around in the tub, so he has fun lathering her hair up into long spikes and other weird shapes much to her amusement.

Gracia returns a short while later after Elicia has rinsed off and he's helping her towel off. She surprises him when she explains Kisa managed to get back into the chair with her help, but doesn't have the strength to climb back into bed.

Without a word, Maes promptly returns to Kisa's room and transfers her back into bed. Once she's settled he heads downstairs to retrieve the icepacks. He takes the dish containing the soup out of the fridge and pours some of the contents into a saucepan, setting it on low before returning upstairs. Wrapping the icepacks in towels, he helps Kisa place them on her shoulder, hip and eye. Leaving again, he returns to the kitchen to monitor the soup.

A half our later he's walking back into the bedroom with a tray bearing Kisa's food to find Elicia and Gracia are sitting with her.

Elicia is already in her pajamas and cuddled up against Kisa's left side as the older girl reads to her. Kisa's left arm is curled around Elicia who holds the book up for her, allowing her to turn the pages with her left hand. Gracia sits perched on the side of the bed listening. Maes settles the tray on the trunk and sits behind Gracia, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Kisa blushes at having a new addition to her audience and pauses to comment when her youngest listener protests.

"Why are you stopping? It's the best part!"

"Sorry, Elicia," Kisa immediately apologizes and continues reading much to Maes and Gracia's amusement, which in turn annoys her slightly.

Maes thinks Kisa is a very good reader and apparently so does Elicia as she's yawning heavily by the time she finishes the book.

"All right, bedtime for all little girls," Maes announces, standing up.

Instead of protesting like she usually does, Elicia twists around in Kisa's grasp and gently hugs the older girl around the neck.

"I'm glad you're here and I'm going to go to bed so I can get up early to help you."

Gently returning the hug, Kisa smiles softly when the little girl pulls back a little to look at her. "I'd like that. I hope you have pleasant dreams."

Elicia smiles as Maes eases her into his arms. She immediately cuddles into his neck while he carries her out of the room.

He returns minutes later to find Gracia chatting with Kisa while she eats. Grabbing the discarded icepacks he takes them to the kitchen, placing them back into the freezer for later use. When he enters the bedroom again, Gracia just finished giving Kisa her medication and both adults help her settle back into the bed.

Picking up the tray with the dirty dishes, he stands next to Gracia in the doorway.

"We'll check on you later in case you need anything, Kisa."

Kisa nods at him and closes her eyes as Gracia gently pulls the door shut behind them.

Once the dishes are washed and put away, both adults settle on the sofa in the sitting room. Gracia cuddles into Maes' side with a contented sigh.

"I'm sorry I can't take any time off tomorrow to help you with Kisa," he apologizes, breaking the silence a few minutes later.

"No one knew that she'd be injured today."

"True, but it still isn't fair I can't be around to help."

Tightening her grip around his waist, Gracia replies, "All you can do is your best to at least get home on time. We'll manage tomorrow. Besides, from your descriptions, conditions were worse when Kisa and Kyo took care of you in Azambra."

"They really were," Maes replies softly. Glancing down he adds, "I think I just came up with a solution, though."

When his wife looks up he explains, "Earlier I was thinking we could host a small dinner in a couple of weeks. I want to invite some of my co-workers as a way of introducing Kisa. Roy hasn't formally met her, but she has met Denny, Maria and Riza. As it is, Maria and Denny are worried about her since they were there when she was arrested. Right now I was remembering how Ed and Al are supposed to be returning to Resembool within the next week or so. Maybe we can invite them and Winry. They can stay with us for a couple of weeks."

Gracia frowns at him, saying, "You're going to take shameless advantage of the kids to help with Kisa."

"Yup," Maes grins. "Besides, they don't know about Kisa. It'd be interesting to see her and Ed meet for the first time."

Sighing heavily she points out, "Kisa only knows about Ed looking exactly like her. You never said you ever told her about Kyo being Al's double."

Maes stiffens as the realization hits him hard. Tightening his arms around Gracia, he kisses the top of her head.

"I'll tell Kisa about Al. It didn't occur to me to do it earlier, but I didn't learn Al and Kyo were identical until I came back after the Promised Day."

Gracia pats his chest soothingly. "I know, but it's something you have to do before the boys arrive. That won't be a pleasant shock to Kisa."

Arching a brow, he looks into her eyes. "So you're okay with the dinner party?"

She smiles before stretching to kiss his lips. "I'm fine with it. Although, the kids probably won't appreciate being roped into helping with Kisa."

Waving it off he says, "It'll be fine. Kisa needs to meet some kids her own age. However, I will make sure to tell her about Al tomorrow when I get home."

Gracia nods. "It'll give her time to come to terms with the prospect of facing someone who looks just like Kyo."

The silence stretches out before she adds, "She addressed me as 'aunt' earlier."

"I wondered how long it would take," he grins at his wife's fond smile.

"You may have expected it, but it's still a pleasant surprise nevertheless."

"I knew she'd respect you that much immediately and not just because you're my wife. I'm still surprised that she and Kyo both kept addressing me as 'uncle' despite the circumstances of how we met. Obviously Kyo was trying to placate me so I wouldn't hurt his sister, but they continued even when the tables were turned and I was at their mercy."

"You shouldn't be surprised, Maes. It's just as obvious you earned their respect." She lets him think over her words before commenting, "She's a very sweet girl. I can see why you were so worried about her and her brother, assuming he was like her."

"Kyo was definitely the more outgoing of the two. He said what was on his mind and was very protective of Kisa. She tends to suffer in silence." Sighing he adds, "I'm still not sure if that's really her personality or learned from her experiences. However, she was far less likely to complain about anything than Kyo was. I wonder how long she had to survive without her protector. Even a month was probably too long," he muses softly.

Gracia arches a delicate brow. "From what you've described, Kisa's a survivor."

"She is," he readily agrees, "but considering she tolerates a lot, that probably means she suffered a lot without Kyo being her defender. Maybe it was only for the time I was with them, but I never saw her defend herself."

Gracia soothingly strokes his chest again, saying, "Kisa won't suffer anymore, not if we have anything to do with it."

Maes kisses the top of her head again as they cuddle further into each other's arms, enjoying the comfortable silence stretching out around them.

* * *

The night passes uneventfully. Maes checks on Kisa periodically, waking her up around midnight to see if she needed to use the bathroom.

She did, but Maes doesn't bother waking Gracia to help. Draping a towel over Kisa's lap he lifts her onto the toilet before leaving the room briefly to give her some privacy. Afterward he returns her to bed, making sure she takes another does of her pain medication before leaving her alone again.

Later that morning he got up a earlier than he normally does. After waking Kisa up to help her into the bathroom again he administers her medication. He vividly recalls the pain of a shoulder dislocation from the one and only time he was foolish enough to agree to spar with Armstrong. He can't begin to imagine dealing with that plus a dislocated hip and fractured ribs. So he's making sure she's right on schedule with her pain medication.

When finished, he carries her downstairs and settles her onto the sofa. The previous night he and Gracia discussed it and agreed it'd be much easier for her to check on Kisa if she were downstairs. It also gives Kisa a change of scenery and she'd have an easier time gazing out the windows instead of being cooped up inside her room.

As he's draping the throw over the teen, Kisa comments, "It's a good idea for me to be down here instead of upstairs. It makes it easier on Aunt Gracia since I'm being such a burden."

Maes pauses in his fussing to glares at her in annoyance before reaching up and yanking on a strand of hair. Kisa grunts slightly in discomfort before glaring back while rubbing her scalp. Ignoring her glare, he disappears upstairs a couple of times to bring down the wheelchair as well as the vase with her flowers and her medicine.

Afterward he heads into the kitchen to help Gracia with breakfast. A half hour later he gently rouses Kisa awake.

"Ready to eat?" he asks as bleary gold focuses on him.

She nods, prompting him to place her in the wheelchair and roll her into the kitchen.

While they eat, Kisa remains silent, listening to the comforting chatter of her host family. She didn't feel like she has anything worthwhile to contribute, but she's also enjoying her food too much to waste time talking. She now understands why Maes used to go on so much about Gracia's cooking. Even simple dishes like the chicken soup she ate the night before and the oatmeal they're having this morning is far better than any pathetic versions she had previously. Silently she agrees Gracia is a very good cook.

After breakfast, Maes leaves Kisa to sit in the kitchen while Gracia and Elicia clean up so he can shower. A half hour later he reenters the room to see Kisa sipping tea while Gracia has her coffee as they chat. Elicia gets up from the table and races to hug his legs.

Kisa notices that Maes is wearing a regular suit and not his military uniform. Belatedly she recalls he wasn't wearing his uniform yesterday when he picked her up from the medical wing.

Before she can ask, he asks her, "Do you want to lie out on the sofa or remain in the chair for now?"

Cocking her head slightly, Kisa considers it before saying, "It might be easier if I stay in the chair. If I get tired, I'm certain I can manage to maneuver onto the sofa to sleep."

Maes nods and lifts Elicia into his arms. "Sounds good. I'm headed to work then."

Gracia rises to her feet and wheels Kisa through the house, parking the chair on the stoop just outside the front door so they can see Maes off. He kisses Elicia before setting her down and straightening up to kiss Gracia.

Kisa is surprised when he leans down to kiss her forehead. Boring into her eyes he states, "Don't be afraid to ask Gracia for help. It'll be easier on everyone if you do."

Kisa blushes and silently nods. She's stunned he kissed her like she's a part of his family. Still wondering what it meant, she waves automatically to him with Gracia and Elicia as he gets into his car. If she's going to eventually move into the refugee tenement, surely she's going to be too busy supporting herself instead of coming around enough to be considered a part of their family. Maybe it's his way of making her feel more welcomed, less a guest.

She doesn't have long to ponder on those thoughts as Gracia wheels her back inside.

* * *

Maes' entire day is thankfully uneventful, excepting a couple of interesting twists.

It starts when Riza follows him into Roy's office for his daily ritual of annoying the brunet with the latest family photos.

Glancing over his shoulder as he steps inside the doorway he ignores Roy's groan to quip, "Why Col. Hawkeye, I never knew you had just an interest in seeing pictures of my darling family like Gen. Mustang does."

Ignoring Roy's glare Riza admits, "To be honest, Gen. Hughes, I'm presently more interested in learning how Kisa is doing."

Much to Roy's relief, it's enough to distract Maes from shoving the photos in his face.

"She's doing okay, all things considered," Maes smiles at the blonde. "She's certainly in a lot of pain, but she slept the remainder of the day and all night without complication. Despite icing it, her left eye is nearly swollen shut and looks awful. At least the swelling didn't affect the stitches. It goes without saying, but Gracia and Elicia took to her immediately."

"I'm not surprised," Riza smirks. "There hasn't been a person Elicia has met that she hasn't liked."

Maes shakes his head. "That's where you're wrong. She doesn't like the dentist, for obvious reasons, and the balloon vendor at the park because he's mean and smells bad."

Riza grins as Roy shakes his head, asking, "Don't you have work to do, Hughes, so you can go home on time?"

"I do," Maes admits with a nod. "But first I've got to show you the latest photos of Gracia and Elicia!"

Roy groans and slaps a hand to his face.

"Please don't keep Gen. Mustang too long from his work," Riza reminds Maes, eliciting a mock salute from the bearded man.

The rest of the day passes normally until Maria and Denny stop by to ask Maes about Kisa.

They're talking to him by Sheska's desk, intriguing the studious girl who valiantly tries not to eavesdrop.

Finally, Sheska can't resist and asks, "Excuse me, but I heard a civilian was falsely arrested yesterday and assaulted by the arresting officers. Is that related to whom you're talking about?"

Maes blinks at her before mentally slapping himself. This entire time Sheska has been doing so many things related to Kisa's immigration from sorting the mail, forwarding certain calls from I & N and notarizing related documents and yet he never explained to her the reason why.

"I'm sorry, Sheska," he apologizes sincerely. "I got so focused on bringing Kisa to Amestris that I took for granted even telling you about her."

Without further preamble he recounts everything knowing all three are fully aware of his hiding in the southeast. He tells them about his first meeting with Kyo and Kisa all the way through to his escape. He leaves out certain details, like her and Kyo being informants, since that's personal and it's up to her to reveal them or not.

While he shares his incredible tale, Lt. Col. Armstrong stealthily joins his enthralled audience, hearing nearly the entire story. Maes has always been amazed at how stealthy such a big man could be.

He doesn't mind that Armstrong listens in uninvited since he trusts the man implicitly. However, he's not surprised it leads to the inevitable emotional outburst that sends the faint of heart diving under the nearest desk.

"The horrors humans are capable of inflicting upon one another to justify forcing their beliefs and ideologies on another!" Armstrong proclaims with copious amounts of righteous indignation. "It's amazing how some children survive such tragedies to journey so far to start a new life!"

Tuning out the subsequent over inflated proclamations, Maes sighs wearily and rubs his forehead, waiting for the waterworks to finish before leaning down to coax Sheska out from under her desk. He gave Denny and Maria a few moments to recover from the shock while musing how lucky he is to have such an astute wife to talk him out of having a dinner party yesterday to welcome Kisa. The poor girl would've started crawling back to Azambra if she had been exposed to Armstrong.

Armstrong is a fine soldier and a good friend, but there are times Maes wishes the man's personality weren't so excessive.

His thoughts are interrupted when his ears catch Armstrong declaring, "I should call upon such a remarkable young girl at this very moment and express my marked admiration for her courage and determination!"

"No you won't!" Maes cuts in sharply startling the mammoth man. Taking a slow, deep breath he explains, "Armstrong, you missed the part where I told these three about Kisa looking identical to Ed. Aside from her gender, she looks exactly like him and it gave her some horribly unexpected trouble yesterday."

Maes recounts Kisa's arrival all the way to how she ended up injured. Denny and Maria add their own comments to give both Armstrong and Sheska the full story.

"That must've been horrible for Kisa," Sheska mumbles behind her hand.

With trembling fists clenched at his sides, Armstrong is barely holding his rage. "I'm appalled Gen. Hakuro would thoughtlessly order an arrest on baseless suspicion. Xenophobia is not enough of a reason. I'm incensed at Major Bison. I considered him to be of better character than that since the we often sparred together."

"Don't let it bother you too much, Armstrong," Maes assures him. "Bison and Arjun are definitely getting what's coming to them. If they aren't drummed out of the military they may be sent to Briggs to be reformed by Gen. Armstrong and her crew."

"Ah, a fitting punishment. They shall turn out better for it," Armstrong nods, slightly mollified. "What of Gen. Hakuro's involvement?"

"Not sure," Maes admits with a sigh. "I think the Fuhrer is considering his options because I don't think he wants to lose another general, not over this. Hakuro is paying for all of Kisa's medical expenses, but I don't think he's going to get busted down a rank for this."

"He should," Maria grouses. "But I agree, that's not going to happen."

"I want to suggest that he has to work with the Azambran refugees, but there'd be some confusion as to who's getting punished in that instance," Denny quips, prompting the others to laugh.

"What matters most is that Kisa is safe at home now and has been cleared of all suspicion," Maes states.

"It must be difficult and scary to start over in a new country with no family or friends," Sheska muses sympathetically.

"And that's something I'm trying to change," Maes grins. "Gracia and I decided to hold a small dinner party in a couple of weeks to start introducing Kisa to some of our closest friends. Nothing big. Probably just you guys from this office and Roy's staff." He pauses to pin Armstrong with a cold glare. "However, because of everything she's been through, you are to keep strict control of your emotions, Armstrong, and not rhapsodize euphoric about how courageous she is, how strong willed she must be to survive, etc."

Armstrong opens his mouth to protest, but Maes cuts him off. "Kisa is very reserved and quiet. She's also been through hell and if you come off too strong it'll scare the shit out of her. Because of her experiences in recent years she could perceive your exuberance as an aggressive attack. You're as big as Bison and he struck her for trying to rightfully ask what the charges against her were. Looking at it from her perspective, do you really think one of your outbursts will go over well?"

Armstrong considers it before quietly agreeing, "You're right to be concerned. I am a total stranger to her and it's likely such behavior wouldn't go over so well. I take it for granted since everyone I know understands and readily accepts my behavior."

Maria and Denny simultaneously arch incredulous brows and share a look, but say nothing.

Ignoring them Maes points out, "We have to keep in mind that Kisa's cultural background is vastly different than what we're used to. That's not to say she wouldn't be accepting of your naturally ebullient personality, but she's going through a lot of adjustment right now, so chances are good it won't go over well."

Armstrong nods in understanding. "I shall show some of the infamous Armstrong family restraint because I am eager to meet such a remarkable girl, but I do not wish to upset her."

"Good," Maes nods in acceptance. "Because I want Kisa to meet my closest friends and don't wish to exclude you."

Recognizing the tell tale signs in Armstrong's face of the onset of another outburst Maes promptly hands Sheska a file.

"Sheska, please run this over to the archives. Take your time to make sure it's filed correctly."

"Yes, sir!" Sheska gratefully replies in a rush while fleeing from the office.

Maes turns to salute Maria and Denny. "You two carry on. I need to get back to work if I want to leave early to help Gracia."

Without further ado, or giving them a chance to answer, Maes shamelessly abandons the two to deal with Armstrong's latest outburst as he firmly closes his office door behind him.

He grins as he hears Armstrong's muffled voice proudly declare, "I am so honored to work with such fine officers!" Then he hears Denny's voice yell, "Run, Captain!" Followed immediately by Maria's yelling, "Don't hug me, Colonel! That's sexual harassment!"

When their voices disappear, Maes assumes Armstrong is giving chase. With a relieved sigh, he moves over to settle behind his desk.

* * *

Diligently focusing on his paperwork, Maes manages to sneak out of work early. Being it's a Friday he'll have the entire weekend to help take care of Kisa. Before leaving he sets up her appointment with Dr. Knox for the following Thursday and submitted a leave request for that day and Friday so he'd have a long weekend. Knox informs him that he'll set up her physical therapy appointment to follow sometime afterward and would have a nurse call Monday to confirm the time.

Walking up the front steps when he arrives home, he notices the shades to the front sitting room are drawn. The house is quiet when he steps inside. Crossing the foyer to his left he peeks inside the door to the sitting room.

Kisa is stretched out on one of the sofas, partially propped up and covered by a quilt. She's sound asleep and doesn't stir when Maes quietly approaches to pull the quilt higher to her chin. Reaching up, he tenderly brushes a few stray locks of hair off her face before leaving the room to find Gracia and Elicia.

Both are in the kitchen working on dinner and dessert.

"Daddy!" Elicia eagerly cries, racing into his arms.

He kisses her on the cheek while walking over to kiss Gracia on the mouth.

"You're home early," Gracia comments when they break for air.

"I was a good boy and hustled through my work so I could come home early and help with Kisa," he explains, setting Elicia down. "Dinner looks good."

"I'm making a roast for dinner. I called our family doctor for some advice on a proper diet to help Kisa until her follow up. A roast has the proteins and vegetables her body desperately needs." Reaching down, Gracia fondly strokes the top of Elicia's head. "We just finished preparing it and I was about to put it into the oven."

"Let me put it in for you, honey."

Once he places the pan containing the roast into the oven, he leaves the kitchen to head upstairs to change. He returns several minutes later as Gracia and Elicia are working on the large custard fruit tart for dessert. Taking a cutting board, he takes over cutting the fruit into pieces while Elicia helps Gracia begin preparing the crust and custard.

As they work, he briefly recounts his day for them. When he finishes he asks about Kisa.

"She slept most of the day. We didn't even have to be very quiet as she slept soundly."

"Was it difficult for Kisa to use the bathroom?"

Gracia's uncharacteristic sigh of frustration captures his complete attention and he stops cutting to listen.

"A couple of times I became distracted by something else and didn't check on her for quite some time. It'd be longer than reasonable for her to use the restroom or to take her pain medicine. Not once did she ask for anything to eat or drink. She merely apologized when I asked her why she didn't call for me or Elicia."

Shaking his head Maes mutters, "That girl."

"I wouldn't be so worried, but in Kisa's condition holding her bladder for so long can't be healthy. Plus, she's unnecessarily lingering in pain when all she has to do is ask for another dose."

"I'll talk to Kisa. I don't want her to end up in the hospital because she was being stubborn." Stepping over to where Elicia is, he picks her up and sits her on the counter nearby. Gazing into her eyes he explains, "I'm going to wake up Kisa so she can go to the bathroom. Afterward, I'm closing the sitting room doors to talk to her. She might be embarrassed because I've got to scold her a little. I need you to stay and help Mommy and not interrupt us. Do you understand?"

Elicia nods then asks, "Please, don't be too mad at Kisa, daddy. She's trying not to bug anyone."

Maes smiles and kisses her on the top of the head. "I'm not mad at her. I'm just worried, but she might think I'm mad, so I've got to explain it to her."

"I promise to stay with mommy."

"Good girl," he replies.

Setting Elicia back down he leaves the kitchen for the sitting room.

It takes a few tries to wake Kisa. A couple of times she dozes back off. Amused he keeps trying. He might've been worried otherwise if the doctor hadn't told him this was to be expected.

Finally, a groggy Kisa opens a bleary eye. He smiles at her blank look and lack of recognition. Moments later awareness finally lights up her face as she smiles back at him.

"I'm sorry for not hearing you, Uncle," she apologizes while trying to stifle a yawn.

"It can't be helped," Maes waves it off. "Would you like to go to the bathroom?"

She considers it before nodding and allows him to place her in the chair. It isn't long until she's sitting back on the sofa.

Easing next to her, Maes asks, "How are you feeling?"

"My hip and shoulder are hurting a little despite not moving very much."

"Could that partially be due to the fact you didn't call out to Gracia to ask for your pain medication?"

Surprised gold widen as Kisa blushes and looks away in shame.

Sighing heavily, Maes slips down to the floor on one knee in front of her in order to dominate her field of vision as much as possible and prevent her from being able to avoid his gaze very well.

Kisa's startled gaze snaps to him as he gently grasps her left hand while resting the other on the cushion next to her thigh.

"I'm trying to understand why you're risking your health because you feel you're being a burden when we've insisted you're not," he explains, boring into her eyes. "When you and Kyo took care of me in Azambra, you scolded me for trying to do the same thing. You said it was more respectful and showed my gratitude better if I allowed you two to take care of me properly." A fond smile graces his lips. "It was embarrassing not being able to do the simplest things, but I did understand the risks of pushing myself too far. I had to swallow my pride and let you two kids take care of me. That's why I don't understand why you aren't following your own words," he finishes solemnly.

Kisa gapes in stunned shock and dismay. Her eye drops to his hand holding her maimed one. Her breath is ragged as she struggles to maintain control while Maes patiently waits for her to reply.

"It's hard to accept help," she softly explains, reluctantly raising her eye to his. "It used to drive my brothers crazy, but they didn't understand. Whenever Kyo got sick, I'd get sick too and vice versa. However, recuperating was a luxury I wasn't allowed. Mother said it was our duty to keep the household going no matter how bad we felt. Kyo could rest in bed and be fussed over, I couldn't. I had to complete my chores and take care of him. I didn't mind," she fondly smiles for a brief moment before it drops again. "But sometimes I felt so sick I just wanted to lie down. If I did and got caught, I'd get punished. It was really hard sometimes."

She pauses as her gaze drifts down to their hands again. Maes gives her all the time she needs and patiently waits for her to speak again.

"I remember once I just helped mother pull the linens off the clothesline. I was carrying the basket of folded linens inside when I threw up on them. Mother was so mad. I got several lashes with a switch and then had to rewash all the sheets because my vomit coated the side of the stack."

"Mother scolded me saying women have to work through whatever pain they're feeling because their family depends on them." A couple of tears fall from Kisa's eye as her head drops lower, saying, "I never could endure illness and pain as well as mother and Kyoko. It was just one more thing I couldn't measure up to their standards."

Kisa raises her eye again to look at Maes and attempts to smile. "Every time I think of asking for help, I hear mother's voice saying I'm being a shameful burden when I should be helping during my visit."

Maes frowns at the word 'visit' but waits for her to finish.

"Aunt Gracia has enough to do and I'm just making it more difficult asking for things when I can endure it. I didn't do anything to cause my injuries, but I can't become a burden on someone else."

When it's clear she finished speaking Maes asks, "Do you really believe that?" Kisa tries avoiding his eyes, but he gently orders, "Look at me." When she reluctantly does, he repeats, "Do you really believe that? Because how is forcing yourself to needlessly suffer when not feeling well helpful? Not only are you prolonging your illness, but you also risk spreading any contagious illness to others. I know you're a practical girl, so can you really claim to believe that's okay?"

When she doesn't answer and continues looking guilty, Maes sighs heavily, adding, "I don't agree with your mother." Startled, her eye snaps to his firm gaze. "Your mother may have believed that and was able to work through her discomforts and illness, but you don't have to believe in the same things. You're your own person capable of forming your own beliefs. It's okay if they differ from your mother's."

Kisa stares in shock, prompting him to sigh again. "You don't have to abandon what you've been taught, but you shouldn't jeopardize your health either. Your mother isn't here now and if you don't want to feel like a burden you should work with us, letting us take care of you so you can recover faster."

Maes allows the silence to stretch out and his words to sink in before adding, "And you're not a visitor or a guest."

Her head snaps up again and he bores into her eye, clearly emphasizing, "Gracia and I want you to live with us. We want you to become a part of our family."

The blonde teen blinks stupidly, struggling to process his words. "You can't mean that?" she asks incredulously. Seeing he does, she protests, "I can't impose on you! I thought I was staying with your family temporarily!"

Maes cuts her off by gently slapping his hand over her mouth. Before he lifts his hand, he asks, "If our roles were reversed, what would you do?"

"But…" she begins, but is cut off by his arched brow. Reluctantly she admits, "I'd be insisting you stay with my family. Kyo would've nailed you to the floor by your trousers to keep you from leaving."

"A bit extreme, but Kyo would've done that," he grins. His smile softens as he adds, "You two did so much for me that I can't begin to repay that debt. However, it's not about repaying your kindness. I bonded with you both and always hoped you two would make it to Amestris someday and join my family. You're here now and we would be honored if you continue living with us."

Kisa considers it before surprising him with a glare, snapping, "That's playing dirty! Using family honor like that."

Recovering, Maes quips, "Kyo did say you were used to fighting dirty with all the brothers you had." Arching a brow, his gaze becomes pointed. "Besides, consider it payback for how you convinced me to leave you two behind at the borders."

She glowers before biting out, "Are you also going to mention how we gave you extra food too?"

Maes brightens in realization, quipping, "I forgot about that!"

He chuckles at her growl. Yanking her hand out of his, Kisa huffs in irritation, which becomes worse when she realizes she can't cross her arms. So she settles for tucking her good hand slightly between her thigh and the seat cushion before glowering off to the side.

Smiling, Maes grabs her hand again, saying, "You don't have to decide now." Sullenly she looks at him. "If you really don't want to live with us, we'll set you up in your own apartment. You're not being a burden to us. Family can never be a burden to each other and we already adopted you whether you like it or not. In fact, you're our hero and we really would like the chance to get to know you better and take care of you. You're more than welcome to take care of us in turn. It's what family do for each other."

Her expression softens into sadness as she looks down at their clasped hands. "I've felt like nothing but a burden to those I loved for the longest time, are you sure you want me around?"

Maes nods, firmly saying, "We wouldn't fight so hard for you if we didn't."

Kisa quietly states, "It's not like I have anywhere else to go. Well, anywhere that won't expect me to start looking for a husband the following morning." With a heavy sigh, she agrees, "Yes, I'll live with you."

Grinning, Maes stands up to lean over to kiss her forehead before settling next to her on the sofa and gently pulls her into a hug. "You're too young to get married in my opinion. Anyone who has a problem with that can talk to me."

Kisa nods and tightens her one armed grip on him as best as she can.

Moments later Maes breaks the silence to say, "Now that we've got that out of the way, there's something else I need to talk to you about."

Kisa raises her head to look at him.

"In a couple of weeks we're going to have a small dinner party for some of our closest friends and my co-workers. You've already met Riza, Denny and Maria, but I thought it'd be a nice way to introduce you to everyone else as well."

Kisa frowns slightly in confusion. "I'll still be healing from my injuries."

Maes nods. "That's part of the reason why I'm suggesting it because you're not going to be able to get out much. Plus, after everything that happened yesterday, there's no way in hell I'm going to want you near headquarters so soon. Not until things completely cool off with Hakuro. I don't want to tempt fate."

She agrees, quipping. "It's a gamble I'm not interested in making. I don't want to find out if it's possible to dislocate both shoulders and hips at the same time."

"True," he chuckles in agreement. "We'll probably have three guests staying with us leading up to and around the time of the party."

She gives him a blank look, wondering why that was important to mention when he continues, "Two of them will be the Elric brothers."

Kisa blinks in surprise. "One of them is supposed to be my look-alike and the one everyone keeps confusing me for, right?"

"The older one, Edward," Maes nods. "But there's something I have to tell you regarding his younger brother Alphonse."

Her brow creases in thought as Maes reaches into his shirt pocket to pull out a couple of photos.

She stuns him when she asks, "Are you talking about the fact Alphonse is Kyo's look-alike?"

Maes gapes in shock for a few moments before stuttering, "H-how do you…?"

Smiling, she cuts him off. "I learned about Kyo's look-alike when Izumi Curtis and her husband visited me at the transition camp in Dublith."

Maes smiles in understanding and hands her the photos he pulled out.

As she studies the pictures he points out, "That was taken about a year ago. They briefly returned from their travels abroad for a visit."

Kisa can't help but still be startled by the similarities between her and Kyo and the two young men in the photos. However, she still can't resist that twinge of irritation at knowing she looks exactly like another boy. Not a girl, a _**boy**_. She can't help but wonder if that means she's very masculine looking or Edward is very feminine looking. Either way, she isn't about to ask anyone, especially Uncle. She'll never live the embarrassment down.

Maes cuts into her thoughts stating, "We haven't really had much of a chance to talk about your journey to Central."

"It was fine," she shrugs one shoulder while handing back the photos. "The Dublith transition camp was much better in comparison to the refugee camps, but, to be honest, they're all still pretty much the same."

"But your visit with Izumi and Sig Curtis made your stay in Dublith different, right?" he prods.

Kisa smiles fondly and nods as she shifts her position into the corner where the armrest and backrest meets. She can face Maes better at the slight angle. He helps her adjust her pillows and quilt to get more comfortable.

Once settled, she begins telling him about the stopover in Dublith. "After we left the border city in Aerugo we had to switch trains twice before reaching Dublith. Some grumbled about the inconvenience of switching trains, but I didn't care either way."

"When we got there the temporary transition camp was within walking distance of the train station, which was good since we had been traveling for over a week. The walk was a nice way to stretch our legs. Although, it would've been nice not to have armed soldiers guiding us along," she sighs heavily. "Anyway, getting processed into the camp was typically chaotic like the refugee camps. What was really different this time was we weren't housed in tents but in an actual building."

As she continues describing the old, converted hotel, Maes' heart aches to hear the elation in her voice at having her own room for the first time and having access to running water again in the communal washrooms down the hall.

"I was cleared medically early on," she explains, "But I had to remain in Dublith until there was a large enough group traveling to Central."

Smiling warmly she pauses to think back on her brief time in Dublith.

* * *

_**A/N**__: Got that out a little earlier than I expected, but I was on a roll and went with it, polishing this chapter up while I was working on a couple of my other stories I hadn't updated with this one._

_Glad folks are enjoying it and thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing._


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